
AMERICAN GARDENER; 

OR, 

A TREATISE 



tS THE SITUATlONj SOIL, FENCING AND LAYING-OUT OP GARDENS; 
ON THE MAKING AND MANAGING OF HOT-BEDS AND GREEN- 
HOUSES 5 AND ON THE PROPAGATION AND CULTIVATION OF THE 
SEVERAL SORTS OF VEGETABLES, HERBS, FRUITS AND FLOWERS. 




I went by the field of the Slothful and by the vineyard of the man Toid^ 
3f understanding : and, lo ! it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles 
;overe4 the face thereof, and the stone-wall thereof was broken dovm. 
rhen I saw and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received In- 
struction. "—Prweris ; Chap. XXIV. Ver. 30. 



CLAREMONT, N.H. 
MANUFACTURING COMPANY. 

SIMEON IDE, Ag't. 



PREFACE. 

1. The proper uses of a Preface appear to be, to 
give the reader information, which may be useful, 
during the perusal of the work to which it is prefix- 
ed ; to explain the nature and object of the work ; 
to point out the method of the arrangement of its 
several parts ; and, in short, to afford the means of 
due preparation for the task the reader is entering 
upon ; w^hich preparation is always a great advan- 
tage to the author as well as to the reader. 

2. As to the nature of the work, it is, I hope, 
pretty clearly stated in the Title Page. The object 
evidently is to cause the art of gardening to be better 
understood and practised than it now is in America ; 
and, very few persons will deny, that there is, in this 
case, plenty of room for improvement. America has 
soil and climate for surpassing those of England ; 
and yet she is surprizingly deficient in variety as 
well as quality of garden products. I am not allu- 
ding to things of ornament, or appertaining to lux- 
urious enjoyments ; but, to things that are really 
useful, and that tend to profit and to the preservation 
of health, without which latter, life is not worth hav- 
ing. It is incredible to those, who have not had oc- 
casion to observe the fact, how large a part of the 
sustenance of a country-labourer's family, in Eng- 
land, comes out of his little garden. The labourers 
of England are distinguished from those of other 
countries by several striking peculiarities; but, by 
no one are they so strongly dis anguished as by their 
fondness of their gardens, and by the diligence, care 
and taste, which they show in the management of 



4 



PREFACE. 



them. The reproach which Solomon, in the words 
of my motto, affixes on the slothful and ignorant hus- 
bandman, they seem to have constantly in their 
minds ; and to be constantly on the watch to prevent 
it from applying to themselves. Poverty may apo- 
logize for a dirty dress or an unshaven face men 
may be negligent of their persons ; but the sentence 
of the whole nation is, that he, who is a sloven in his 
garden, is a sloven indeed. The inside of a labour- 
er's house, his habits, his qualities as a workman, and 
almost his morality, maybe judged of from the ap- 
pearance of his garden. If that be neglected, he is, 
nine times out of ten, a sluggard or a drunkard, or 
both. 

3. It seems, at first sight, very odd that this taste 
for gardening should not have been preserved in 
America; but, it is accounted for by reflecting, that 
where land is abundant, attachment and even atten- 
tion to small spots wear away. To desire to possess 
land is a univ^sal desire ; and vanity makes us pre- 
fer quantity to quality. You may prove as clearly 
as daylight, that it is better, in certain cases, to pos- 
sess one acre than a hundred ; but where do you 
find the man that prefers the one acre ? When large 
parcels of land are undertaken to be cultivated, 
small ones are held in contempt ; and, though a good 
garden supplies so large a part of what is consumed 
by a family, and keeps supplying it all the year 
round too, there are many farmers even in England, 
who grudge even a wheelbarrow full of manure that 
is bestowed on the garden. To remove this neglect 
as to gardening in America is one of the objects of 
this work; and, I think, I shall, in the ^^rogress of 
the work, show, thn/ ^e garden may, besides its in- 
trinsic utility, be made to be a most valuable help- 
mate to the Farm, 



PREFACE. 



5 



4. It is impossible to write a book that shall ex- 
clusively apply to every particular case. Some per- 
sons have need of large, while others want only small 
gardens ; but, as to Situation^ Soil, and Fencing, the 
rules will apply to all cases. Those who want nei- 
ther Hot-Beds nor Green-Houses, may read the part 
treating of them, or leave it unread, just as they 
please ; but, I think, that it w^ill not require much 
to be said to convince every American Farmer^ 
North of Carolina, at least, that he ought to have 
a Hot-Bed in the Spring. 

5. I have divided the matters, treated of, thus : 
The j^r5^ Chapter treats of the Situation, Soil, Fenc- 
ing, and Laying-out of Gardens ; the second, of 
the making and managing of Hot-Beds and Green- 
Houses ; the third, of Propagation and Cultivation 
generally ; the three remaining Chapters treat of the 
raising and managing of the several plants, each un- 
der its particular name, classed under the heads, 
Vegetables and Herbs ; Fruits ; Flowers, In each 
of these last three Chapters, I have, in arranging 
my matter, followed the Alphabetical Order of the 
names of the several plants, which mode of arrange- 
ment must naturally tend to make the work of re- 
ference easy. But, as very frequent reference must 
be^ necessary, and, as the utility of the work must, 
in some degree, depend on the facility with which 
the several parts of it can be referred to, there are 
two Indexes at the end, one of the names of the se- 
veral pi ants, Sind, the other, of the matters generally. 
For the same reason, I have numbered the para- 
graphs throughout the work. A more proper term 
might have been found than that of Vegetables, see- 
ing, that, strictly speaking, that word applies to all 
things that grow from the earth. But, as we call 
those products of the garden, which we use, in their 

1* 



8 



PREFACE. 



natural shape, as human food ; as we generally call 
these only by the name oi vegetables^ I have chosen 
that word in preference to one, which, though more 
strictly proper, w^ould be less generally understood. 
Nearly the same may be said of the word Herbs* 

6. Some persons may think, that Flowers are 
things of no use ; that they are nonsensical things. 
The same may be, and, perhaps, with more r^^ason, 
said o( pictures. An Italian, while he gives his for- 
tune for a picture, w411 laugh to scorn a Hollander, 
who leaves a tulip-root as a fortune to his son. For 
my part, as a thing to keep and not to sell ; as a thing. 
the possession of which is to give me pleasure, I he- 
sitate not a moment to prefer the plant of a fine car- 
nation to a gold watch set wdth diamonds. 

7. The territory of the United States includes 
such a variety of climates ; degrees of heat and cold 
so different at the same period of the year ; that it is 
impossible to give instructions, as relating to ti?ne^ 
for sowing, planting, and so forth, that shall be ap- 
plicable to every part of the country. I, therefore, 
for the most part, make my directions applicable to 
seasons, or states of the weather, rather than to 
dates. When I make no particular mention as to 
times of the year, or month, it is to be understood, 
that I am supposing myself at, or near, the City of 
New York, and that I am speaking of what ought to 
be done there. With this clearly borne in mind, the 
reader, who will know the difference in the degrees 
of heat and cold in the different parts of the country, 
will know how to apply the instructions accordingly. 

8. Those persons, who perform their garden work 
themselves, will need no caution with respect to men 
that they employ as Gardeners ; but, those who em- 
ploy Gardeners ought by no means to leave them to 
do as they please. Their practical experience is 



PREFACE. 



ivorth something ; but, if they are generally found 
rery deficient in knowledge of their business in Eng 
land, what must those of them be who come to 
America ? Every man, who can dig and hoe and 
rake, calls himself a Gardener as soon as he lands 
here from England. This description of persons are 
generally handy men, and, having been used to 
spade-work, they, from habit, do things well and 
neatly. But as to the art of gardening, they gene- 
rally know nothing of it. I wished to carry the 
nicer parts of gardening to perfection, at Botley. I 
succeeded. But I took care to employ no man who 
called himself a gardener, I selected handy and 
clear-headed farm-labourers. They did what I or- 
dered them to do ; and offered me none of their ad- 
Dice or opinions, 

9. There is a foible of human nature, which great- 
ly contributes to establish and perpetuate the power 
and the mischief of pretended gardeners. Tell a 
gentleman, that this is wrong, or that is wrong, in 
the management of his garden, and he instantly and 
half-angrily replies, that his gardener is a very skil- 
ful Tnan. " That may be," said I once to a friend, 
who, at an enormous expense, had got two or three 
poor little melons, while I, at hardly any expense 
at all, had large quantities of very fine ones : That 
may be," said I, for skill may consist in getting 
you to expend your money without getting you any 
fruit." The truth is, however, that it is not a desire 
to be deceived, that produces this species of per- 
verseness : it is a desire not to be thought foolish. 
The gentleman has chosen the gardener ; and, the 
reason why he stickles for him is, that, if he allow 
the gardener to be a bad one, he himself has made 
a had choice ; and that would be an imputation on 
his understanding, rather than allow which to be 



8 



PREFACE. 



just, he will cheerfully bleed from his purse pretty 
freely. 

10. The best security against the effects of this 
foible of human nature, is, for the owner of the gar- 
den to be head gardener himself ; and, I hope that 
this work may assist in rendering this office easy 
and pleasant. But, to perform the office well, the 
owner must be diligent as well as skilful. He must 
\ook forward. It is a very good way to look atten- 
tively at every part of the garden every Saturday, 
and to write down some, at least, of the things to 
be done during the next lueek. This tends to pre- 
vent those omissions, which, when they have once 
taken place, are not easily compensated for. Sea- 
sons wait for no man. Nature makes us her oilers 
freely ; but she will be taken at her word. 

11. I cannot help, in conclusion of this preface, 
expressing my hope, that this work may tend to the 
increasing, in some degree, of a taste for gardening 
in America. It is a source of much greater profit 
than is generally imagined ; and, merely as an 
amusement, or recreation, it is one of the most ra- 
tional and most conducive to health. It is a pursuit, 
not only compatible with, but favourable to, the stttdy 
of any art or science. It tends to turn the minds of 
youth from amusements and attachments of a frivo- 
lous or vicious nature. It is indulged at home. It 
tends to make home pleasant ; and to endear to us 
the spot on which it is our lot to live. 

Wm. cobbett. 

North Hempstead, Long Island, 1819. 



CHAPTER 1. 



On the Situation, Soil, Fencing, and Laying-oui 
of Gardens. 

SITUATION. 

12. Those who have gardens already formed 
and planted, have, of course, not the situation to 
choose. But, I am to suppose, that new gardens 
will, in a country like this, be continually to be 
formed ; and, therefore, it is an essential part of my 
duty to point out what situations are best, as well 
with respect to the aspect as to the other circum- 
stances. 

13. The ground should be as nearly on a level as 
possible ; because, if the slope be considerable, the 
heavy rains do great injury, by washing away the 
soil. However, it is not always in our power to 
choose a level spot ; but, if there be a slope in the 
ground, it ought, if possible, to be towards the 
South, For, though such a direction adds to the 
heat in summer, this is more than counterbalanced 
by the earliness which it causes in the spring. By 
all means avoid an inclination towards the North, 
or West, and towards any of the points between 
North and West. After all, it may not be in our 
power to have a level spot, nor even a spot nearly 
level ; and then we must do our best with what we 
have. 

14. I am speaking here solely of a Kitchen-gar- 
den. Of ornamental Gardening I shall speak a lit- 
tle in the Chapter on Floivers. From a Kitchen- 



10 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap 



garden all large trees ought to be kept at a distance 
of thirty or forty yards. For, the shade of them i^- 
injurious, and their roots a great deal more injuri 
ous, to every plant growing within the influence of 
those roots. It is a common but very erroneous 
notion, in England, that the trees, which grow in 
the hedges that divide the fields, do injury by their 
shade only. I had a field of transplanted Ruta 
Baga, in the hedge on the North West side of which 
there were five large spreading oak-trees, at some 
distance from each other. Opposite each of these 
trees, w^hich could not shade the Ruta Baga much, 
there was a piece of the Ruta Baga, in nearly a 
semi-circular form, in which the plants never grew 
to any size, though those in all the rest of the field 
were so fine as to draw people from a great distance 
to look at them. One gentleman, who came out of 
Sussex, and who had been a farmer all his life-time, 
was struck with the sight of these semi-circles ; and, 
looking over the hedge, into a field of wheat, which 
had a ditch between it and the hedge, and seeing 
that the wheat, though shaded by the trees, was 
very little affected by them, he discovered, that it 
was the roots and not the branches that produced 
the mischief The ditch^ which had been for ages 
in the same place, had prevented the roots of the 
trees from going into the field where the w^heat was 
growing. The ground where the Ruta Baga was 
growing had been well ploughed and manured ; and 
the plants had not been in the ground more than 
three months; yet, such was the power of the roots 
of the trees, and so quickly did it operate, that it 
almost wholly destroyed the Ruta Baga that stood 
within its reach. Grdss^ which matts the ground 
all over with its roots, and does not demand much 
food from any depth, does not suflfer much from the 



1.1 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



11 



roots of trees; but, every other plant does. A 
Kitchen-garden should, therefore, have no large 
trees near it. In the spring and fall tall trees do 
great harm even by their shade, which robs the 
garden of the early and the parting rays of the sun. 
jft is, therefore, on all accounts, desirable to keep 
all such trees at a distance. 

15. If it be practicable, without sacrificing too 
much in other respects, to make a garden near to 
running water, and especially to water that may be 
turned into the garden, the advantage ought to be 
profited of; but as to watering with a watering 
pot, it is seldom of much use, and it cannot be prac- 
tised upon a large scale. It is better to trust to ju- 
dicious tillage and to the dews and rains. The mois- 
ture which these do not supply cannot be furnished, 
to any extent, by the watering-pot. A man will 
raise more moisture, with a hoe or spade, in a day, 
than he can pour on the earth out of a watering-pot 
in a month. 

SOIL. 

16. The plants, which grow in a garden, prefer, 
like most other plants, the best soil that is to be 
found. The best is, loam of several feet deep, with 
a bed of lime-stone, sand-stone, or sand, below. 
But, we must take what we find, or, rather, what we 
happen to have. If we have a choice, we ought to 
take that which comes nearest to perfection, and, if 
we possibly can, we ought to reject clay, and gra- 
vel, not only as a top soil, but as a bottom soil, 
however great their distance from the surface. See 
paragraph 109. 

17. Oak-trees love clay, and the finest and heavi- 
est wheat grows in land with a bottom of clay ; but, 
if there be clay within even six feet of the surface, 
tihere will be a coldness in the land, which will, in 



12 THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap. 

spite of all you can do, keep your spring crops a 
week or ten days behind those upon land which h(is 
not a bottom of clay. Gravel is warm, and it would 
be very desirable, if you could exchange it for some 
other early in June ; but, since you cannot do this, 
you must submit to be burnt up in summer, if you 
have the benefit of a gravelly bottom in the spring. 

18. If the land, where you like to have a garden, 
has rocks, great or small, they, of course, are to be 
carried off ; but, if you have a s^ony soil, that is to 
say, little short of gravel to the very surface, and< 
if you can get no other spot, you must e'en ham- 
mer your tools to pieces amongst the stones ; for it 
has been amply proved by experience, that to carry 
away stones of the flint or gravel kind impoverishes 
the land. However, we are not to frame out plans 
upon the supposition of meeting with obstacles of 
this extraordinary nature. We are not to suppose, 
that, in a country where men have had to choose, 
and have still to choose, they will have built, and 
yet will build, their houses on spots peculiarly 
steril. We must suppose the contrary, and, upon 
that supposition we ought to proceed. 

19. Having fixed upon the spot for the garden, 
the next thing is to prepare the ground. This may 
be done by ploughing and harrowing, until the 
ground, at top, be perfectly clean ; and, then, by 
double ploughings : that is to say, by going, with a 
strong plough that turns a large furrow and turns it 
cleanly, twice in the same place, and thus moving 
the ground to the depth of fourteen or sixteen inches, 
for, the advantage of deeply moving the ground is 
very great indeed. When this has been done in 
one direction ; it ought to be done across, and then 
the ground will have been well and truly moved. 
The ploughing ought to be done with four oxen 



L] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 13 

and the plough ought to be held by a strong and 
careful ploughman. 

20. This is as much as I shall, probably, be able 
to persuade any body to do in the way of preparing 
the ground. But, this is not all that ought to be 
done ; and it is proper to give directions for the 
best way of doing this and every thing else. The 
best way is, then, to trench the ground ; which is 
performed in this manner. At one end of the piece 
of ground, intended for the garden, you make, with 
a spade, a trench, all along, two feet wide and two 
feet deep. You throw the earth out on the side 
away from the garden that is to be. You shove] 
out the bottom clean, and make the sides of the 
trench as nearly perpendicular as possible. Thus 
you have a clean open trench, running all along one 
end of your garden-ground. You then take an- 
other piece all along, two feet wide, and put the 
earth that this new piece contains into the trench 
taking off the top of the new two feet wide, and 
turning that top down into the bottom of the trench, 
and then taking the remainder of the earth of the 
new two feet, and placing it on the top of the earth 
just turned into the bottom of the trench. Thus, 
when you have again shovelled out the bottom, and 
put it on the top of the whole that you have put 
into the trench, you have another clean trench two 
feet wide and two deep. You thus proceed, till the 
whole of your garden-ground be trenched ; and then 
it will have been cleanly turned over to the depth 
of two feet. 

21. As to the expense of this preparatory opera- 
tion, a man that knows how to use a spade, wil 
trench four rod in a day very easily in the month a 
October, or in the month of November if the grour 
be not frozen. Supposing the garden to contaU 

2 



14 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



[Chap. 



an acre, and the labourer to earn a dollar a day, 
the cost of this operation will, of course, be forty 
dollars ; v/hich, perhaps, would be twenty dollars 
above the expense of the various ploughings and 
harro wings, necessary in the other way ; but, the 
difference in the value of the two operations is be- 
yond all calculation. There is no point of greater 
importance than this. Poor ground deeply moved 
is preferable, in many cases, to rich ground with 
shallow tillage ; and when the ground has been 
deeply moved once^ it feels the benefit for ever 
after. A garden is made to last for ages ; what, 
then, in such a case, is the amount of twenty dol- 
lars ? It is well known to all who have had experi= 
ence on the subject, that of two plants of almost 
any kind that stand for the space of three months 
in top soil of the same quality, one being on ground 
deeply moved, and the other on ground moved no 
deeper than is usual, the former will exceed the lat- 
ter one half in bulk. And, as to trees of all de- 
scriptions, from the pear-tree down to the currant- 
bush, the difference is so great, that there is room, 
for no comparison. It is a notion with some per- 
sons, that it is of no use to move the ground deeper 
than the roots of the plant penetrate. But, in the 
first place, the roots go much deeper than we gene- 
rally suppose. When vre pull up a cabbage, for 
.instance, we see no roots more than a foot long : 
cut, if we were carefully to pursue the roots to 
\\ie\\ utmost point, even as far as our eye would 
assist us, we should find the roots a great deal 
longer, and the extremities of the roots are much 
too fine to be seen by the naked eye. Upon pulling 
up a common turnip, who would imagine, that the 
side, or horizontal roots, extend to several feet ? 
Vet I have traced them to the length of four 



I.] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 15 

feet; and Mr. Tull proved, that they extended to 
six feet, though he could not see them to that ex- 
tent with his naked eye. But, though the roots 
should not extend nearly to the bottom of the moved 
ground, the plants are affected by the unmoved 
ground being near at hand. If this were not the 
case, plants with very short roots might be culti- 
vated on a brick pavement with earth laid upon it 
to the thickness of a foot ; and yet, no plant will 
live and thrive in such a state, while it will do very 
well in ground along side the pavement, though 
moved only a foot deep. Plants require a commu- 
nication with, and an assistance from, beneath as 
well as from above, in order to give them vigour 
and fecundity. Plants will live, and will grow to a 
certain extent in earthen pots, or in boxes made of 
wood ; but, there must be holes in the hottom of 
both, or the plants will die. See paragraphs 108 
and 109. 

22. It is, therefore, of the greatest importance, 
that the ground be moved to a good depth, and, he 
who is about to make a garden should remember, 
that he is about to do that, the effects of which are 
to be felt /or ages. There is, however, one objec- 
tion to trenching in certain cases. The soil may 
not only not be good to the depth of two feet, but 
it may be bad long before you come to that depth , 
and, in this case, the trenching, in putting the good 
soil at bottom, might bring a hungry sand, or even 
a gravel or clay to the top, which must not be done 
by any means ; for, even in the case of trees, they 
Avould perish, or become stunted, because their 
roots would not find their way from the bad soil to 
the good. In such cases the top soil must, in the 
trenching, be kept at the top ; and, in order to effect 
this, your mode of proceeding, in the trenching, 



16 THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap. 

must be someAvhat different from that described in 
paragraph 20. 

23. Your first trench must be opened in the man- 
ner described in that paragraph ; but you must not 
then proceed to turn the top of the next two feet 
into the bottom of the trench. Let us suppose, 
now, that you have your first trench, two feet wide 
as before directed, open and clean. This being the 
case, take a foot deep of the next tw^o feet all the 
way along, and, for this once, throw it over the open 
trench to add to the earth that you have already 
throwni out of that trench. Then you will have the 
bottom, foot of earth left. Dig out this and turn it 
into the bottom of your open trench, and then the 
first trench will be half filled up, and you will have 
got your second trench open. Then go to a 7iew 
two feet wide, that is the third two feet. Take the 
top foot deep off from this, and throw it on the top 
of the earth that you have just turned into the first 
trench ; and then, where that first trench v/as there 
will be earth two feet deep ; the bad soil at bottom 
and the good soil at top. Then you go on regu- 
larly. The bottom foot of the fourth two feet wide 
piece you turn into the bottom of the second trench, 
and the top foot of the third tw^o feet wide piece 
you throw on the top of the earth which is at the 
bottom of the second trench. And, thus, when you 
have done, you will have moved all your ground 
two feet deep, and will have the bad soil at bottom 
and the good at top. 

24. At the end of your work, you will, of course, 
have an open trench and a half; and this must be 
filled up by carrying the earth, which came out of 
the first trench, round in a cart or wheel-barrow, 
and putting it into the space that you will have open 
at last. For trees and asparagus, you ought to 



I.] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 17 

do still more. See Asparagus in Chapter IV. 

25. It must be observed, however, that, though 
the soil be good in its nature down to two feet 
deep, that which comes to the top in the first mode 
of trenching, will not be, immediately^ so good for 
use, as the soil which has been at top for ages. It 
is, in such a case, of great advantage to place the 
old top soil at the bottom ; because when roots find 
the soil good to such a depth, the plants and trees 
thrive and bear surprizingly. But, then, the new 
top soil must be exceedingly well worked and well 
and judiciously manured, in order to make it equal 
to the old top soil : which object is, however, very 
soon accomplished, if the proper means be made 
use of 

26. The ground being trenched, in October, ought 
to be well manured at top with good well-rotted 
dung, or with soap-boiler^s ashes, or some other 
good manure ; and this might be ploughed, or dug 
in shallowly. Before the frost is gone in the spring, 
another good coat of manure should be put on ; 
well-rotted manure from the yard ; ashes ; or, ra^ 
ther, if ready, from a good, compost. Then, when 
the frost is gone, the ground will be instantly fit for 
digging and planting ; and, it wdll bear almost any 
thing that can be put into it. 

27. Thus w^ill the ground he prepared ; and here 
I close my directions with regard to the nature and 
preparation of the soil. But, it seems necessary to 
add a few words on the subject of manures as 
adapted to a garden. It is generally thought, and, 
I believe, truly, that dung, of any sort, is not what 
ought to be used in the raising of garden vegetables. 
It is very certain, that they are coarse and gross 
when produced with aid of that sort of manure, 
compared to what they are when raised with the aid 

2* 



18 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



of ashes, lime, and composts. And, besides, 

dung, in hot soils and hot climates, adds to the 
heat ; while ashes, lime, rags and composts do not ; 
but, on the contrary, they attract, and cause the 
earth to retain, moisture. 

28. All the ground in a garden ought always to 
be good ; and it will be kept in this state if it be 
well manured once every year. Perhaps it will 
scarcely ever be convenient to any one to manure 
the whole garden at one time : and this is not of so 
much importance. Clay, or any earth, burnt, is 
excellent manure for a garden. It has no seeds of 
weeds or grass in it. A compost, made of such 
ashes, some wood-ashes, a small portion of horse- 
dung, rotten leaves, and mould shovelled up under 
trees, round buildings, or on the sides of roads. 
All these together, put into a heap, and turned over 
several times, make the best manure for a garden. 

29. A great deal more is done by the fermenta- 
tion of manures than people generally imagine. 
In the month of June take twenty cart loads of 
earth, which has been shovelled off the surface of a 
grassy lane, or by a road side, or round about barns, 
stables, and the like. Lay these twenty loads about 
a foot thick on some convenient spot. Go and cut 
up twenty good cart-loads of weeds of any sort, and 
lay these well shaken up, on the earth. Then cover 
the w^eeds Avith twenty more cart-loads of earth like 
the former, throwing the earth on lightly. In three 
days you will see the heap smoke as if on fire. If 
you put your hand into the earth, you will find it 
too hot to be endured. In a few days the heat will 
decline, and you will perceive the heap sink. Let 
it remain a week after this, and then turn it very 
carefully. This will mix the whole well together. 
You will find the weeds and grass in a putrid state. 



1.1 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



19 



Another heating will take place, but less furious 
than the former. Turn it a second time in seven 
days : and a third time in seven days more. And 
by this time you will have forty cart loads of ma 
nure, equal in strength to twenty of yard dung, and 
a vast deal better for a garden, or, indeed, for any 
other land. It is not expensive to obtain this sori 
of manure ; and such a heap, or part of such a heap, 
might at all times be ready for the use of the gar* 
den. When such a heap were once formed, some 
ashes, fish-shells or bones reduced to powder, or 
other enlivening matter, might be added to it, and 
mixed well with it ; and thus would a store be al- 
ways at hand for any part of the garden that might 
want it. 

FENCING. 

30. Here, as in the case of Situation^ I am sup- 
posing the garden about to be made. Those who 
already have gardens, have fences. They may im- 
prove them, indeed, upon my plan ; but, I am sup- 
posing the case of a new garden ; and, I am also 
supposing a garden to be made in what I deem per* 
fection. Those who cannot, from whatever circum- 
stance, attain to this perfection, may, nevertheless, 
profit from these instructions as far as circumstances 
will allow. 

31. The fence of a garden is an important mat- 
ter ; for, we have to view it not only as giving ;)ro- 
tection against intruders, two-legged as well as four- 
legged, but as affording shelter in cold weather and 
shade in hot, in both which respects a fence may be 
made of great utility in an American Garden, where 
cold and heat are experienced in an extreme degree. 

32. In England the kitchen-gardens of gentlemen 
are enclosed with walls from ten to sixteen feet 
high ; but this, though it is useful, and indeed ne- 



9 



30 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



[Chap. 



cessary, in the way of protection against two-legged 
intruders, is intended chiefly to afl;*ord the means of 
raising the frnit of Peaches^ Nectarines^ Apricots^ 
and Vines, which cannot, in England, be brought 
to perfection without walls to train them against; 
for, though the trees will all grow very well, and 
though a small sort of Apricots will sometimes 
ripen their fruit away from a wall, these fruits can- 
not, to any extent, be obtained, in England, nor the 
Peaches and Nectarines, even in France, north of 
the middle ol that country, without the aid of walls. 
Hence, in England, Peaches, Nectarines, Apricots, 
and Grapes, are called Wall-Fruit. Cherries, 
Plums, and Pears, are also very frequently placed 
against walls ; and they are always the finer for it ; 
but, a wall is indispensably necessary to the four 
former. 

33. In America a fence is not wanted for this pur- 
pose ; but it is very necessary for protection ; for 
shelter ; and for shade. As to the first, gardeners 
may scold as long as they please, and law-makers 
may enact as long as they please, mankind never 
will look upon taking fruit in an orchard or a gar- 
den diS felony nor even as trespass. Besides, there 
are, in all countries, such things as boys ; and every 
man remembers, if he be not very forgetful, that he 
himself was once a boy. So that, if you have a 
mind to have for your own use what you grow in 
your garden, the only efl^ectual security is an insur- 
mountable fence. This prevents the existence of 
temptation, in all cases dangerous, and particularly 
in that of forbidden fruit : therefore ihe matter re- 
duces itself to this very simple alternative : share 
the produce of your garden good-humouredly with 
the boys of the whole neighbourhood ; or, keep it 
for your own use by a fence which they cannot get 



I.] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 21 

through, under, or over. Such a fence, however 
it is no trifling matter to make. It must be pretty 
high ; and must present some formidable obstacles 
besides its height. 

34. With regard to the second point ; the shelter ; 
this is of great consequence ; for, it is very well 
known, that, on the south side of a good high fence, 
you can have peas, lettuces, radish, and many other 
things, full ten days earlier in the spring, than you 
can have them in the unsheltered ground. Indeed, 
this is a capital consideration ; for you have, by this 
means, ten days more of spring than you could 
have without it. 

35. The shade, during the s">rmer, is also valu- 
able. Peas will thrive in the snade long after they 
will no longer produce in the sun. Currant trees 
and Gooseberry trees will not do well in this cli- 
mate unless they be in the shade. Raspberries also 
are best in the shade ; and, during the heat of sum- 
mer, lettuces, radishes, and many other things, 
thrive best in the shade. 

36. It will be seen presently, when I come to 
speak of the form of a garden, that I have fixed 
on an Oblong Square^ twice as long as it is wide. 
This gives me a long fence on the North side and 
also on the South side. The form gives me a 
fine, warm extensive border in the spring, and the 
latter a border equally extensive and as cool as I 
can get it, in the heat of summer. Of the various 
benefits of this shelter and this shade I shall, of 
course, speak fully, when I come to treat of the cul- 
tivation of the several plants. At present I shall 
confine myself to the sort of fence that I would re- 
commend. 

37. I am aware of the difiiculty of overcoming 
long habity and of introducing any thing that is new* 



32 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap 



Yet, amongst a sensible people, such as those, for 
whose use this work is intended, one need not be 
afraid of ultimate success ; and I, above all men, 
ought not to entertain such fear, after what I have 
seen with regard to the Ruta Baga. The people 
of this country listen patiently ; and if they be not 
in haste to decide, they generally decide wisely at 
last. Besides, it is obvious to every one, that the 
lands, in the populous parts of the country, must 
be provided with a different sort of fence from that 
which is now in use ; or, that they must be, in a 
few years, suffered to lay waste. 

38. Yet, with all these circumstances in my fa- 
vour, I proceed with faultering accent to propose, 
even for a garden, a live fence^ especially when I 
have to notice, that I know not how to get the 
plants, unless I, in the outset, bring them, or their 
seeds, from England ! However, I must suppose 
this difficulty surmounted ; then proceed to describe 
this fence that I would have, if I could. 

39. In England it is called a Quick-Set Hedge. 
The truth is, however, that it ought rather to be 
called an Everlasting Hedge ; for, it is not, as will 
be seen by-and-by, so very quickly set ; or, at least, 
so very quickly raised. If I could carry my read- 
ers into Surrey, in England, and show them quick- 
set hedges, I might stop here, and only provide the 
seeds or plants. But, not being able to do that, I 
must, as well as I can, describe the thing on paper. 
The plants are those of the White Thorn. This 
thorn will, if it be left to grow singly, attain the 
bulk and height of an apple-tree. It bears white 
flowers in great abundance, of a very fragrant smell, 
which are succeeded by a little berry, which, when 
it is ripe in the fall, is of a red colour. Within the 
red pulp is a small stone ; and this stone, being put 



I.] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 23 

in the ground, produces a plant, or tree, in the same 
manner that a cherry-stone does. The red berries 
are called haws ; whence this thorn is sometimes 
called the liaw-thorn ; as in Goldsmith's Deserted 
Village : " The haw-thorn bush, with seats beneath 
the shade.'* The leaf is precisely like the Goose- 
berry leaf, only a little smaller ; the branches are 
every where armed with sharp thorns ; and the 
wood is very flexible and very tough. 

40. The haws are sown in drills, like peas, and 
they are taken, from that situation and planted very 
thick in rows, in a nursery, where they stand a 
year or two, if not wanted the first year. Then 
they are ready to be planted to become a hedge. 
In England there are two ways of planting a hedge, 
as to position of ground. One on a hank, with a 
ditch on the side : the other on the level ground. 
The latter is that, of which I have now i6 speak. 

41. The ground for the Garden being prepared, 
in the manner before described under the head of 
SoiU you take up your quick-set plants, prune their 
roots to within four inches of the part that was at 
the top of the ground ; or, in other words, leave the 
root but four inches long, taking care to cut away 
all the fibres, for they always die ; and they do 
harm if they be left. Make the ground very fine 
and nice all round the edges of the piece intended 
for the garden. Work it well with a spade and 
make it very fine, which will demand but very little 
labour. Then place a line along very truly ; for, 
mind,- you are planting for generations to come ! 
Take the spade, put the edge of it against the line ; 
drive it down eight or ten inches deep; pull the 
eye of the spade towards you, and thus you rnake, 
all along a little open cut to receive the roots of 
the plants, which you will then put into the cut, 



S4 THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap 

very upright^ and then put the earth against them 
with your hand, taking care not to plant them deeper 
in the ground than they stood before you took them 
up from the nursery. The distance between each 
plant is twelve inches. When this line is done, 
plant another line all the way along by the side of 
it, and at six inches from it, in exactly the same 
manner ; but, mind, in this second line, the plants 
are not to stand opposite the plants in the first line, 
but opposite the middles of the intervals. When 
both lines are planted, tread gently between them 
and also on the outsides of them, and then hoe the 
ground a little, and leave it nice and neat. 

42. This work should be done in the first or se^ 
cond week of October, even though the leaves should 
yet be on the plants. For, their roots will strike 
in this fine month, and the plants will be ready to 
start off in the spring in a vigorous manner. If you 
cannot do it in the fall, do it the moment the ground 
is fit in the spring ; because, if you delay it too 
long, the heat and drought comes, and the plants 
cannot thrive so well. 

43. In both cases the plants must be cut down 
almost close to the ground. If you plant. in the fall, 
cut them down as soon as the frost is out of the 
ground in the spring, and before the buds begin to 
swell ; and, if you plant in the spring, cut down as 
soon as you have planted. This operation is of in- 
dispensable necessity ; for, without it you will have 
no hedge. This cutting down to within half an 
inch of the ground will cause the plants to send out 
shoots that will, in good ground, mount up to the 
length of three or four feet, during the summer* 
But, you must keep the ground between them and 
all about them very clean and frequently hoedf 



I.] 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



25 



for the quick-sets love good culture as well as 
other plants. 

44. Some people cut down again the next spring; 
but, this is not the best way. Let the plants stand 
two summers and three winters, and cut them all 
close down to the ground as you can in the spring, 
and the shoots will come out so thick and so strong, 
that you need never cut down any more. 

45. But, you must, this year, begin to clip. At 
Midsummer, or rather, about the middle of July, 
you must clip off the top a little and the sides near 
the top, leaving the bottom not much clipped ; so 
that the side of the hedge may slope like the side 
of a pyramid. The hedge will shoot again imme- 
diately, and will have shoots six inches long, per- 
haps, by October. Then, before winter, you must 
clip it again, leaving some part of the new shoots, 
that is to say, not cutting down to your last cut, 
but keeping the side always in a pyramidical slope, 
so that the hedge may always be wide at bottom 
and sharp at the top. And thus the hedge will go 
on getting higher and higher, and wider and wider 
and wider, till you have it at the height and thick- 
ness that you wish ; and when it arrives at that 
point, there you may keep it. Ten feet high, and 
five feet through at bottom, is what I should choose; 
because then I h^ve fence, shelter and shade ; but, 
in the way of fence, five feet high will keep the 
boldest boy off from trees loaded with fine ripe 
peaches, or from a patch of ripe water-melons ; and, 
if it will do that, nothing further need be said upon 
the subject! The height is not great; but, unless 
the assailant have wings, he must be content with 
feasting his eyes; for, if he attempt to climh the 
hedge, his hands and arms and legs are full of thorns 
in a moment; and he retreats as the fox did from 

3 



36 THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap. 

the grapes, only with pain of body in addition to 
that of a disappointed longing. I really feel some 
remorse in thus plotting against the poor fellows ; 
but, the worst of it is, they will not be content with 
fair play : they will have the earliest in the season, 
and the best as long as the season lasts ; and, there- 
fore, I must, however reluctantly, shut them out 
altogether. 

46. A hedge five clear feet high may be got in 
six years from the day of planting. And, now let 
us see what it has cost to get this fence round my 
proposed garden, which, as will be seen under the 
next head, is to be 300 feet long and 150 feet wide, 
and which is, of course, to have 900 feet length of 
hedge. The plants are to be a foot apart in the 
line, and there are to be two lines; consequently, 
there will be required 1800 plants, or suppose it to 
be two thousand, I think it will be strange indeed, 
if those plants cannot be raised and sold, at two 
years old, for two dollars a thousand. I mean fine 
stout plants ; for, if your plants be poor, little slen- 
der things that have never been transplanted, but 
just pulled up out of the spot where they were 
sown, your hedge v/ill be a year longer before it 
come to a fence, and will never, without extraordi- 
nary care, be so good a hedge ; for, the plants 
ought all to be as nearly as possible oi equal size ; 
else some get the start of others, subdue them, and 
keep them down, and this makes an uneven hedge, 
with weak parts in it. And, when the plants are 
first pulled up out of the seed-bed, they are too 
small to enable you clearly to ascertain this ine^ 
quality of size. When the plants are taken out of 
the seed-bed and transplanted into a nursery, they 
are assorted by the nursery men, who are used to 
the business. The strong ones are transplanted 



I.] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. *Z7 

into one place, and the weak ones into another: so 
that, when they come to be used for a hedge, they 
are already equalized. If you can get plants three 
years old they are still better. They will make a 
complete hedge sooner ; but, if they be two years 
old, have been transplanted, and, are at the bottom, 
as big as a large goose quill, they are every thing 
that is required. 

47. The cost of the plants is, then, four dollars. 
The pruning of the roots and the planting is done, 
in England, for about three half pence a rod; that 
is to say, about three cents. Let us allow twelve 
cents here. I think I could earn two dollars a day 
at this work; but, let us allow enough. In 900 
feet there are 54 rod and a few feet over: and, 
therefore, the planting of the hedge would cost 
about seven dollars, To keep it clean from weeds 
would require about two days work in a year for 
five or six years : twelve dollars more. To do the 
necessary clipping during the same time, would re- 
quire about thirty dollars, if it were done in an ex- 
traordinary good manner, and with a pair of Garden 
Shears. So that the expenses to get a complete 
hedge round the garden would be as follows : 

D. c. 

Plants .... 4 00 
Planting ... 7 00 
Cultivation . . 12 00 
Clipping ... 30 00 



Total . . 53 00 
48. And thus are a fence, shelter and shade, of 
everlasting duration, for a garden, containing an 
acre of land, to be obtained for this trifling sum ! 
Of the beauty of such a hedge it is impossible for 
any one, who has not seen it, to form an idea : con- 



28 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap 



trasted with a wooden, or even a brick fence, it is 
like the land of Canaan compared with the deserts 
of Arabia. The leaf is beautiful in hue as well as 
in shape. It is one of the very earliest in the 
spring. It preserves its bright green during the 
summer heats. The branches grow so thick and 
present thorns so numerous, and those so sharp, as 
to make the fence wholly impenetrable. The shelter 
it gives in the early part of spring, and the shade it 
gives (on the other side of the garden) in the heat 
of summer, are so much more effectual than those 
given by wood or brick or stone fences, that there 
is no comparison between them. The Prirarose 
and the Violet, which are the earliest of all the 
flowers of the fields in England, always make their 
first appearance under the wings of the Haw-Thorn. 
Goldsmith, in describing female innocence and sim- 
plicity, says : " Sweet as Primrose peeps beneath 
the Thorn." This Haw-Thorn is the favourite 
plant of England : it is seen as a flowering shrub 
in all gentlemen's pleasure-grounds ; it is the con- 
stant ornament of paddocks and parks ; the first ap- 
pearance of its blossoms is hailed by old and young 
as the sign of pleasant weather ; its branches of 
flowers are emphatically called " May," because, 
according to the Old Style, its time of blooming was 
about the first of May, which, in England is called 
" May-Day ;" in short, take away the Haw-Thorn, 
and you take away the greatest beauty of the En- 
glish fields and gardens, and not a small one from 
English rural poetry. 

49. And why should America not possess this 
most beautiful and useful plant? She has English 
gevv-gaws, English Play-Actors, English Cards and 
English Dice and Billiards ; English fooleries and 
Eiaglish vices enough in all conscience ; and why 



I] 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER, 



29 



not English Hedges^ instead of post-and-rail and 
board fences ? If, instead of these steril-looking and 
cheerless enclosures the gardens and meadows and 
fields, in the neighbourhood of New York and other 
cities and towns, were divided by quick-set hedges, 
what a difference would the alteration make in the 
look, and in the real value too, of those gardens, 
meadows and fields! 

50. It may be said, perhaps, that, after you have 
got your hedge to the desired height, it must still 
be kept clipped twice in the summer ; and that, 
therefore, if the fence is everlasting, the trouble of 
it is also everlasting. But, in the first place, you 
can have nothing good from the earth without an- 
nual care. In the next place, a wooden fence will 
soon want nailing and patching annually, during the 
years of its comparatively short duration. And, 
lastly, what is the annual expense of clipping, when 
you have got your hedge to its proper height and 
width, and when the work may be done with a long- 
handled hook instead of a pair of shears, which is 
necessary at first? In England such work is done 
for a penny a rod, twice in the summer. Allow 
three times as much in America, and then the an- 
nual expense of the garden hedge will be less than 
four dollars a year, 

51. Thus, then, at the end of the first twenty 
years, the hedge would have cost a hundred and 
nine dollars. And, for ever after, it would cost 
only eighty dollars in twenty years. Now, can a 
neat boarded fence, if only eight feet high, and to 
last twenty years, be put up for less that six dol- 
lars a rod ? lam convinced that it cannot; and, 
then, here is an expense for every twenty years, of 
three hundred and forty-eight dollars, A Locust 
fence, I allow, will last for ever ; but, then, what 

3* 



30 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap 



will a. feikce all of Locust^ cost ? Besides the differ- 
ence in the look of the tiling ; besides the vast dif- 
ference in fiie nature and effect of the shelter and 
the shade ; and besides, that, after all, you have, in 
the wooden lence, no effectual protection against 
invaders, 

52. However, there is one thing, which must not 
be omitted; and that is, that the hedge will not be 
^ fence ^ or, at least, I would not look upon it as 
such, until it had been planted six years. During 
these six years, there must be a fence all round on 
the outside of it, to keep ofl' pigs, sheep and cattle : 
for, as to the two-legged assailants nothing will keep 
them off except a quick-set hedge. If I had to make 
this temporory fence, it should be a dead hedge, 
made of split hickory rods, like those that hoops 
are made of, and with stakes of the stoutest parts of 
the same rods, or of oak saplings, or some such 
things. The workmanship of this, if I had a 
Hampshire or Sussex hedger, would not cost me 
more than six cents a rod : perhaps, the stuff would 
not cost more than a quarter of a dollar a rod ; and 
this fence would last, with a little mending, as long 

, as I should want it. But, as few good hedgers come 
from England, and as those who do come appear 
to think, that they have done enough of hedging in 
their own country, or, if they be set to hedging here, 
seem to look upon themselves as a sort o^ conjurors, 
and to expect to be paid and treated accordingly, 
the best \^ ay, probably, is, to put up a temporary 
post-and-riil fence, sufficient to keep out a sucking 
pig : and to keep this fence standing until the hedge 
has arrived at the age of six years, as before men- 
tioned. 

53. There yet remains one advantage, and that 
not a small one, that a quick-set hedge possesses 



I.] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 31 

over every other sort of fence ; and that is, that it 
effectually keeps out poultry^ the depredations of 
which, in a nice garden, are so intolerable, that it 
frequently becomes a question, whether the garden 
shall be abandoned, or the poultry destroyed. Fov/ls 
seldom, or never, over a fence. They, from mo- 
tives of prudence, first alight upon it, and then drop 
down on the other side ; or, if they perceive dan- 
ger, turn short about, and drop back again, making 
a noise expressive of their disappointment. Now, 
Fowls will alight on wooden, brick, or stone fences; 
but never on a quickset hedge, which affords no 
steady lodgment for their feet, and which wounds 
their legs and thighs and bodies with its thorns. 

54. What has been said here of forming a hedge 
applies to meadows and fields as well as to gardens ; 
observing, however, that, in all cases, the ground 
ought to be well prepared, and cattle, sheep and 
pigs kept effectually off, until the hedge arrive at 
its sixth year. 

55. If I am asked how the white thorn plants are 
to be had in America, I answer, that I saw a Tree 
of Hawthorn at McAIlister^s Tavern, near Harris- 
burg, in Pennsylvania, loaded with red berries. In 
short, one large tree, or bush, would soon stock 
the whole country ; and they may be brought from 
England, either in plant or in berry. But, there 
are many here already. If more are wanted, they 
can be had any month of December, being shipped 
from England, in barrels, half sand and half berries 
in November. The berries, which are called haivs 
are ripe in November. They are beaten down from 
the tree, and cleared from leaves and bits of wood. 
Then they are mixed with sand, or earth, four 
bushels of sand, or of earth, to a bushel of haws. 
They are thus put into a cellar, or other cool place ; 



32 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap. 



and here they remain, always about as moist as 
common earth, until sixteen months after ihey are 
put in ; that is to say, through a winter, a summer^ 
and another winter ; and then they are sown (in 
America) as soon as the frost is clean out of the 
ground. They ought to be sown in little drills ; 
the drills a foot a part, and the haws about as thick 
as peas in the drills. Here they come up ; and? 
when they have stood 'till the next year, you pro- 
ceed with them in the manner pointed out in para- 
graph 40. 

56. These haws may be had from Liverpool^ from 
London, or from almost any port in Great Britain 
or Ireland. But, they can be had only in the months 
of November and December. Seldom in the latter ; 
for, the birds eat them at a very early period. They 
are ripe early in November ; and, half haws half 
sand, may be had, I dare say, for two dollars a bar- 
rel, at any place. Three barrels would fence a 
farm ! And, as America owes to Europe her Wheat, 
why be ashamed to add fences to the debt ? But 
(and with this I conclude,) if there be a resolution 
formed to throw all lands to common, rather than 
take the trifling trouble to make live fences, I do 
hope that my good neighbours will not ascribe these 
remarks to any disposition in me to call in question 
the wisdom of that resolution. Figure I, in Plate 
IV. exhibits a piece of the Garden-Hedge in eleva- 
tion, in the winter season. See this Plate IV. in 
Chapter V. 

LAYING-OUT. 

57. The Laying'Out of a Garden consists in the 
division of it into several parts, and in the allotting 
of those several parts to the several purposes for 
which a garden is made. These parts consist of 



34 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap, 



Walks, Paths, Plats, Borders and a Hot-Bed 
Ground. 

58. To render my directions more clear as well 
as more brief, I have given a plan of ray proposed 
garden, Plate I. This is not, strictly speaking, a 
plan ; because it exhibits trees in elevation ; but it 
will answer the purpose. Of the sorts of which 
these trees are, and of other circumstances belong- 
ing to them, I shall speak fully under the head of 
Fruits, The precise description of the Hot-Beds 
will be found under that head. At present my ob- 
ject is to explain the mode of Laying-out the Ground. 

59. The length of the Garden is 100 yards, -the 
breadth 50 yards, and the area contains a statute 
acre ; that is, 160 Rods of 16 ^ feet to the Rod. In 
order to bring my length and breadth within round 
numbers, I have been obliged to add 6 rod and 58 
square feet ; but, with this trifling addition here is 
a spot containing an acre of land. Before, how- 
ever, I proceed further, let me give my reasons for 
choosing an Oblong Square, instead of a Square of 
equal sides. It will be seen, that the length of my 
garden is from East to West. By leaving a greater 
length in this direction than from North to South, 
three important advantages are secured. First, we 
get a long and warm border under the North fence 
for the rearing of things early in the spring. Se- 
cond, we get a long and cool border under the South 
fence for shading, during the great heats, things, to 
which a burning sun is injurious. Fourth, by this 
shape of the area of the Garden a larger portion of 
the whole is sheltered, during winter and spring, 
from the bleak winds. 

60. Having such a spot before us, little difficulty 
can arise in Laying it out^ Indeed, it is only ne- 
cessary to state the dimensions. The several parts 



HE AMERrCAN GARDENER, 



39 



are distinguished by numbers* The long walk, 
running from East to West, is 6 feet wide, as is 
also the cross walk, in the middle. All the paths 
are 3 feet wide. The borders, Nos. 2 and 3, are 9 
feet wide. The dimensions of the Plats Nos. 5, 7, 
8, 9, 10, and 11, are (each) 70 feet from East to 
West and 56 from North to South. Plat, No. 6, is 
56 feet by 50. Plat, No. 4, is 60 feet by 36. The 
Hot-bed Ground, No, 1, is 70 feet by 36. I leave 
trifling fractions unnoticed. In the English garden- 
ing books, they call those parts of the garden 
'* Quarters,'^ which I call Plats ; but, for what rea- 
son they so call them it would be difficult to conjec- 
ture, I call them plats, which is the proper word, 
and a word, too, universally understood. A plat is 
a piece of ground : and it implies, that the piece is 
small, compared with other larger portions, such as 
fields, lots, and the like. I will just anticipate here, 
that when beds for asparagus, onions, and other 
things, are made, they should run across the plats 
from North to South ; and that rows of Corn, Peas, 
and Beans, and other larger things in rows, should 
have the same direction. But, when beds are sown 
with smaller things, the rows of those things must 
go across the beds ; as will be seen when we come 
to speak of sowing. 

61. As to the art of La5'ing-out, it would be to 
insult the understanding of an American Farmer to 
suppose him to stand in need of any instructions. 
A chain, or a line, ^n([pole, are all he can want for 
the purpose, and those he has always at hand. To 
form the walks and paths, is, in fact, to lay out the 
Garden ; but, the walks and paths must be made 
not only visible, but must be dug out. The way is 
to take out the earth about four inches deep, and 
spread it over the adjoining ground, some on each 



36 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap 



side of the walk or path, taking care to fling, or 
carry, the earth, so dug out, to such a distance, that 
every part of the ground, which is not walk or path, 
receive an equal proportion of what is thus dug out. 
Gravel may be put in the walks and paths : it makes 
the whole look neater ; but, in a country where the 
frost is so hard in winter and the ground so dry in 
summer, gravel can hardly be said to be necessary^ 
while it may be troublesome ; for, in spite of all 
you can do, a part of it will get into the borders ; 
and, there it must do harm. 

62. It will be seen, that about a third part of the 
Garden is appropriated to Fruit Trees. The rea- 
son for this, and the uses of the other parts of the 
ground, will be fully stated in the Chapters on Cul- 
tivation. I have here treated merely of the form 
and the dimensions, and of the division, of the Gar- 
den. It is in treating of the cultivation of the seve- 
ral sorts of plants that our attention will be brought 
back to a close contemplation of the several parts 
included in this division. 



CHAPTER II. 

On the Making and Managing of Hot Beds and 
Green-houses, 

HOT-BEDS. 

63. I AM not about to lay down rules for persons 
who can afford to have cucumbers in March, This 
amounts to something little short of /o/Z^^ in Eng- 
land : in America, it would be something worse. 
But, Hot-Beds^ as things of real use, are more ne- 
cessary in America than in England ; because in the 
former country, the winter will not suffer to exist 



II.] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 3T 

in the open air many plants, which are wanted to 
start with the warm sun, and which plants the win- 
ter will suffer to exist in the open air in England. 
The American Spring bears no resemblance to that 
of England, which comes on by degrees from the 
end of February to the beginning of June ; while 
the American Spring cannot be said to be of a fort- 
night's duration. There is, in fact, no Spring : there 
xs a Winter, a Summer and an Autumn, but no 
Spring; and none would ever have been thought 
of, if the word had not come from Europe along 
with many others equally inapplicable. 

64. This sudden transition from a ^^-inter, which 
not only puts a total stop to, but effaces all traces 
of, vegetation, to a summer, which, in an instant, 
creates swarms of insects, or warms them into life, 
sets the sap in rapid motion, and, in six days, turns 
a brown rye-field into a sheet of the gayest ver- 
dure ; this sudden transition presents the gardener, 
or the farmer, with ground v/ell chastened by the 
frost, smoking with fermentation, and with a sun 
ready lo push f9rward every plant ; but, alas ! he- 
has no plants! I know, that there are persons^ 
who do preserve lettuce, cabbage, and other plants, 
during the winter, and that there are persons^ who 
rear them on Hot-beds in the Spring ; but, what I 
aim at, is, to render the work easy to farmers in 
particular ; not only as the means of supplying 
their tables, but the stalls of their cattle, and the 
yards of their sheep and pigs. In the summer (a 
cruelly dry one) of 1819, who, within many miles 
of my house in Long Island, had a loaved cabbag&, 
except myself? During June, July and August, I 
allowed fifteen a day for my own family : I gave 
ten a day to one neighbour ; to others I gave about 
five hundred^ perhaps, first and last ; and, the plantr 



38 THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap. 



were all raised in one single light, four feet by 
three and a half on a hot-bed, made on the I9th of 
March. The hot-bed had six lights altogether, and 
was about twenty feet long ; but, the part appro- 
priated to these cabbages was only four feet by three 
and a half. The plants came out of this bed on 
the 20th of April and were planted three inches 
apart on another bed, without glass, but covered at 
night with a cloth. On the 20th of May, they were 
planted out in the open ground; and, on the llth 
of June we began to eat them. All these cabbages. 
Early Dwarfs, Early Yorks, Sugar Loaves, and 
Battersea, (coming in one sort after the other) 
amounting to about/(9?/r thousand in number, stood, 
when planted out, upon rather less than thirty rods 
^of ground ; and the earliest sorts, while we were 
using them so liberally, were selling in New York 
market at from 6 to 4 pence a piece. 

65. To preserve, during Winter, such a number 
»of plants, or, indeed, any number, however small, is 
-a v/ork of great difficulty, and is merely chance- 
work after all. Besides, fall-sown plants are not so 
good as spring-sown. They become stunted; and 
they very frequently go oif to seed, instead of pro- 
ducing loaves. However, it is not my business to 
treat here of cultivation : I am here to speak of the 
Making and Managing of hot-beds. This must, 
of course, include a description of the Wood and 
Glass, when formed into Frames and Lights, But, 
first of all, I must treat of the making of the 
bed. 

66. The materials of which the bed is to be com- 
posed, and the manner of preparing those mate- 
rials, are first to be spoken of. 

67. Dung of horses, cattle, sheep or pigs, is used 
to make the bed of. Either may be made to dOf 



11] 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



39 



with a greater or less degree of care and trouble ; 
but, the best possible thing is dung from the stable^ 
taken away before it has been rotted^ short and long 
promiscuously, but rather long than short. If there 
be a large proportion of short, it may have any lit- 
ter added to it ; any broken straw or hay or corn 
stalks, in order to make a due mixture of long and 
short, 

68. This choosing of the materials being a very 
important point, I shall, in order to make my in- 
structions clear, suppose a case, and such a case as 
will be very clear to every American Farmer. 

69. By the month of March he has always a heap 
of dung, which has, from time to time, been thrown 
out of his stable, during the winter and fall. This 
is some long and some short. Let the whole of 
this (supposing there to be three horses kept) be 
taken ; and, in addition, a pretty good wagon load 
of long stained stuff from the cow-yard, or sheep- 
yard. Toss it down in a heap, near where you are 
going to make the bed. Then begin on one side of 
it, and take the stuff and begin making a fresh 
heap of it. Shake every fork full well to pieces, 
and mix well the long with the short ; and thus go 
on, till you have the whole in a round heap rising 
to a point. 

70. The second day after this heap is made it will 
begin to send forth steam. Let it remain three 
days in this state ; that is to say, four clear days 
after the day of making the heap. Then turn the 
heap back again ; shaking all well to pieces, as be- 
fore, and bringing to the inside that part of the stuff 
which was before on the outside of the heap. Let 
it remain now three clear days after the day of turn- 
ing. Then turn it again ; shaking well to pieces, 
as before, and bringing again the outside stuff to 



40 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap 



the inside. When it has remained two clear days 
in this state, it is fit to make the bed with. 

71. In the making the bed you will proceed as 
directed below; but I must first describe the Frame 
and the Lights. Were I speaking to persons liv 
ing in a country, where there is no such thing as a 
hot-bed frame, I should be obliged to enter into a 
detailed mechanical description. But, as Frames 
and Lights are to be seen in almost every consider- 
able town in America ; and, as I have known very 
few American Farmers, w^ho are not able to make 
both with their own hands, without any help from 
either carpenter or glazier, it will be necessary 
merely for me to say, that the Frame is of the best 
shape when it is eighteen inches deep at the back, 
and nine inches deep at the front. This gives slope 
enough, and especially in a country where there is 
so little rainy weather. The Frame is the wood 
work, on which the Lights, or glass-work, are laid. 
There needs no more than a good look at a thing of 
this sort to know how to make it, or to order it to 
be made. And, as it is useless to make a hot-bed 
without having the Frame and the Lights ready, I 
shall suppose them to be prepared. I suppose a 
three-light Frame, four feet wide and nine feet 
long, which, of course, will make every Light three 
feet wide and /o-ur long ; because, the long way of 
the Light fits, of course, the cross way of the 
Frame. 

72. Now, then, to the work of making the bed. 
The front of the bed is, of course, to he full South, 
so that the noon sun may come right upon the glass. 
The length and width of the bed must be those of 
the Frame. Therefore, take the Frame itself, and 
place it on the spot which you mean the bed to stand 
on. See that you have it rightly placed ; and then> 



11] 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



41 



with a pointed stick, make a mark in the ground all 
round the outside of the Frame. Then take the 
Frame away. Then take some sharp-pointed 
straight stakes, and drive them in the ground, at 
each corner of this marked-out place for the bed, and 
one or two on the back and on the front side. Let 
these be about four feet high. They are to be your 
guides in building the bed ; and, they ought, there- 
fore, to be very straight, and to be placed jperfectly 
upright. Each stake may be placed about an inch 
further out than the mark on the ground ; for fear 
of having the bed too narrow ; though, observe, 
the bed should be as nearly the same length and 
breadth as the Frame as it is practicable to make it. 

73. In order to begin the work well, it is a very 
good way, to put some hoards on their edges, on 
the ground, at the ends and sides, on the insides of 
the stakes ; so as to have a sort of open box to be- 
gin to make the bed in. The eye of a gardener 
scorns such assistance ; but it is very useful to per- 
sons unused to the work. 

74. Thus, all being prepared, you begin making 
the led. Begin taking the dung on the side of your 
heap nearest to the spot where you are building the 
bed. Keep taking up clean to the ground. Have 
shovel as well as fork. Take long and short fairly, 
and mix them well as you put them in. Shake tht^ 
stuff in such a way as not to suffer any lumps. 
Shake every straw from every other straw. Let the 
bed rise in all parts together as nearly as possible. 
That is to say, do not put much in one part at one 
time. Beat the whole down with the fork as you 
proceed. When you have shaken on dung to the 
thickness of four or five inches, beat all over well 
again ; and so on, till the work be finished. But 
mind: you must be very careful to keep the edges^ 



42 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap. 



of the bed well beaten ; or else they will be more 
hollow, and will sink more, than the re&t, and then 
the earth on the bed will crack in the middle. Beat 
them w^ell ; keep them well up as you proceed ; 
beat well the sides of the bed, as it goes on rising-. 
Comb the sides frequently down w4th the spanes of 
the fork. And, in short, make the sides upright, 
and smooth and neat as a w^all. As you proceed, 
measure the height frequently ; in the different 
parts of the bed, to see that you are keeping the 
height every where the same. At last, shovel and 
sweep up all the short earthy stuff round the bed 
and where your dung-heap was, and lay it very 
smoothly on the top of the bed ; and make all as 
smooth and as level as a die with the back of your 
shovel. 

75. Thus the bed is made. Then put on the 
Frame, and fix it nicely. Then put the Lights upon 
the Frame. If you finish your bed by noon, the 
heat will begin to rise by the next morning ; and, 
by the noon of the second day after the bed is 
made, the heat will be up. Poke your finger as 
deep as you can into the middle of the bed, when 
you have taken off one of the Lights. If the heat 
-be so great as to burn your finger ; that is to say, 
if you cannot endure the heat ; then it is too great 
to receive the earth ; but, if not, OTi the earth all 
over the bed. If the heat be too great, give the bed 
a little air, and wait till a little of the heat be 
gone off. 

76. The earth should be dry ; not like dust ; but, 
not wet, I made provision for my bed, by putting 
earth in my cellar, in November. It is not much 
that is wanted. The bed is to be covered all over, 

. about six inches deep. When the earth has been 
on twenty-four hours, take off the lights, and stir 



II.) THE AMERICAN GARDENER. ^ 

the earth well with your hands ; for, hands are the 
only tools used in a hot-bed. When you have 
stirred the earth well, and made it level and smooth, 
you may sow your seed^ if you do not find the earth 
too hot. But, observe, the earth is to be levels and 
not sloping like the glass. The glass is sloping to 
meet the sun, and to turn off the wet ; but, the earth 
must lie perfectly level ; and this, you will observe, 
is a very great point. 

77. Next comes the act of sowing, The more 
handsomely this is done, the better it is done. A 
handsome dress is better than an ugly one, not be- 
cause it is warmer, or cooler, but because, liking it 
better, being more pleased with it, we take more 
care of it. Those who have seen two or three wo- 
men together, crossing dirty streets, or in danger 
from horses or carriages, where the volunteer as- 
sistance of men became useful ; those philosophers, 
who have been spectators of scenes like this, cannot 
have failed to discover, that humanity, like smoke, 
is very apt to fly to the fairest ; and I much ques- 
tion whether Nicodemus Broadbrim himself, if he 
saw a pretty girl and an ugly one stuck in the mud, 
would not give his hand to the former. He would 
hand them b(kh out to a certainty ; but, he would 
extricate the pretty one first. There is a great 
deal in the look of our gardens and fields ; and, 
surely, in so diminutive a concern as a hot-bed, all 
ought to be neat and regular. Seeds are great tell- 
tales ; for, when they come up, we discover all the 
carelessness that may have prevailed at the sowing 
of them. 

78. When you have taken off all the lights, make 
little drills with your finger, from the back of the 
bed to the front, half an inch deep and about an 
inch apart. Make them equi-distant, parallel, and 



44 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap. 



straight. Then drop in your Cahhage seeds along* 
the drills, very thin ; but, twenty seeds, perhaps in 
an inch ; for, some will not grow, and some may 
be pulled up when they appear. It is better to have 
rather too many than too few. When you have 
dropped in your seeds all over the bed, and distin- 
guished the several sorts of Cabbages by names, or 
numbers, written on a bit of paper, and put into 
the cleft of a little stick, stuck in the ground ; then 
cover all the seeds over neatly and smoothly. Put 
on the lights ; and look upon your spring work as 
happily begun. 

79. But, now we come to the management of a 
hot-bed. And, observe, that the main principle is, 
always to give as much air as the plants will en- 
dure. I have always observed, that the great and 
prevalent error is, an endeavour to obtain, by exclu- 
sion of air, something to make up for the want of 
bottom heat. It is not thus that nature operates. 
She gives the air as well as the heat ; and, without 
the former she gives nothing. I suppose the hot- 
bed, made as above, to be about four feet high, 
when just finished. It will sink as it heats ; and 
will, at last, come to about a foot and a half Its 
heat will gradually diminish ; but, it will give a 
great heat for about six weeks ; and some heat for 
four months. It is this bottom heat that makes 
things grow. The sun is often hot in May ; but, 
it is not till the earth is warm that vegetation ad- 
vances with rapidity. 

80. Having secured the bottom heat, make free 
with the air. Even before the seeds begin to ap- 
pear, give air to the bed every day, unless it be very 
cold weather indeed. The usual way of giving air 
is by bits of thick board, cut in the shape of a tri- 
angle, or, rather, like a wedge, broad at one end, 



II.] 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



45 



and coming to a point at the other. Each light is 
lifted up, either at back or front of the frame, as 
the wind may be, and the wedge, or tilter^ as it is 
called, is put in, to hold the light up. But, if more 
air be wanted, the lights may be shoved up, or 
down ; and, in a fine day, actually taken off. 

81. When the plants come up, they will soon tell 
you all about air ; for, if they have not enough, 
they will draw up long-legged, and will have small 
seed leaves, and, indeed, if too much deprived of 
air, will drop down and die. Take care in time to 
prevent this. Let them grow strong rather than 
talL Short stems, broad seed leaves, very green; 
these are the signs of good plants and proper ma- 
nagement. 

82. It will be necessary to water. Take off a 
light at a time, and water with a watering pot that 
does not pour out heavily. Water just about sun- 
set : and then shut down the lights ; and the heat 
will then rise, and make the plants grow prodi- 
giously. 

83. As soon as the plants are fairly up, thin 
them, ledivin g four in an inch; and stir the ground 
about, at the same time with your finger. This 
will leave in the frame from twenty-five to thirty 
thousand plants. If you want less, sow in w4de 
rows and thinner in the row. But, above all things, 
give air enough. Do not attempt to make the 
i^ldiXiis grow fast. You are sure to destroy them, 
if you make this attempt* Have patience. The 
plants will be ready soon enough. Get them strong 
and green ; and, to do this, you must give them 
plenty of air. Remember, that, out of a thousand 
failures in hot-bed culture, nine hundred and ninety- 
nine arise from the giving of too little air. 

84. Before I proceed to the time of taking the 



46 THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [ChajX 

plants out of the bed, I must make a remark or 
two respecting shelter for hot-beds ; and this leads 
me back to the Plan of the Garden, In that plan 
{Plate I.) is the Hot-bed Ground, No. 1, which is 
70 feet by 36. The fence to the North and West 
is the hedge, and that to the South and East ought 
to be made of Broom Corn Stalks, in this manner : 
Put some Locust-Posts along at eight or ten feet 
apart. Let these posts be ten feet high and 
squared to three inches by three inches. Lay a 
bed of bricks, or smooth stones, along the ground 
from post to post, and let this bed be about 
seven or eight inches wide. This bed is for the 
bottomiS of the Broom-Corn Stalks to stand on. 
Go on one side of the row of posts, and nail three 
rows of strips, or laths (best of Locust,) to the 
posts. The first row at a foot and a half from the 
ground ; the second row at six feet from the 
ground ; and third row within six inches of the top 
of the posts. Then do the same on the other side 
of the posts. Thus you will have a space of three 
inches wide, all the way along, between these op- 
posite rows of strips. Then take fine, long, straight 
Broom-Corn Stalks, and fill up this space with them, 
full and tight, putting them, of course, bottoms 
downwards, and placing these bottoms upon the 
bricks. When the whole is nicely filled, strain a 
line from top of post to top of post, and according 
to that line, cut off the tops of the Broom-Corn 
Stalks ; and, while the fence will look very hand- 
some, it will be a shelter much more efi^ectual than 
pales or a wall ; and, in my opinion, will last as 
long as the former, unless the former be made 
wholly of Locust. Stalks, rushes, reeds, straw, 
twigs, bows, any thing of this kind, formed into a 
fence, or put up as shelter, is preferable to any 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



47 



thing smooth and solid. Grass will shoot earlier 
under a hush^ than under a wall, or even a house. 
A wall will not save your ears from the sharp winds 
so effectually as even a thin hedge. The American 
farmer knows well the warmth that w^alls of Corn- 
Stalks afford. 

85. However, it is not to be presumed, that a 
Hot-Bed Ground will be made by every farmer ; 
and, therefore, before I proceed further with my 
mstructions about it, let me proceed upon the sup- 
position, that the aforementioned bed is made in 
some open place. In this case it will be necessary 
to use some precautions as to shelter, 

86. While the dung is workings before it be made 
into the bed, it must, in case of very sharp frosty 
be covered^ especially on the North and North 
West sides. If it be not, it will freeze on these 
sides, and, of course, will not ferment. However, 
this is no troublesome job : you have only to throw 
on a parcel of straw, or stalks ; and take them off 
again, when the frost relaxes. W^hen the bed is 
made, this is what I did. I drove some stakes 
down, four feet distant from the bed, opposite the 
North Side and the West End. I tacked a pole 
from stake to stake ; and then I placed up along 
against this pole, three or four rows of sheaves of 
tall Corn-Stalks. This sheltered the bed from the 
North West winds, and prevented it from freezing 
on that quarter. Some sheaves might, besides, if 
necessary, be laid against the bed itself. But, ob- 
serve, you must be able to get at the Lights con- 
stantly to give air, and to see how things go on ; 
and, therefore, it is better to have your shelter at 
some feet distance from the bed. 

87. We now return to the bed and the plants. I 
suppose the seed to have been sown on the 10th of 



48 THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap* 

March {Long Island, mind,) and that you have 
been very attentive to give air and water. By the 
10th of April, the plants will have eight leaves^ 
and they will form one solid patch of green. They 
will be a little drawn up, though you have given 
them plenty of air. And now they must be re- 
moved into a new bed. Dig out the ground a foot 
deep, four feet wide, and to as great a length as is 
required by your number of plants. Fill this hol- 
low up with the best dung you have, cover it over 
with four inches of good earth ; and plant your 
plants upon it in rows four inches apart, and two 
inches apart in the row. When you have put out 
the plants, water them lightly ; and shade them for 
two or three days from the sun. They must also 
be sheltered every night, in this manner. Take 
some rods, put one end of each rod into the ground 
on one side of the bed, and the other end on the 
other side ; put these rods at about two feet asunder 
all along the bed ; then tie some rods long ways to 
these arched rods ; so that, when you have done, 
your bed has an arch over it formed by these rods. 
Every evening about sun-set, cover this arch with 
mats, with old carpets, or with a slight covering ot 
any sort, which take off again at sun-rise in the 
morning. 

88. To put out all your plants in this way will 
require a very long bed, or many short ones. If, 
therefore, your number of plants be very large, the 
best way will be to put out a part of them in this 
way, leave the remainder in the hot bed a week 
longer, (taking off the lights in the day time,) and 
then to plant all the remainder out in beds of fine 
rich earth, in the natural ground, and without any 
covering. 

89. Now here we drop, for the present, the 



II.] 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



49 



subject of Cabbage-Plants ; because I am to speak 
of their culture, under the word, Cabbage^ in that 
part of the work, which will treat of the cultiva- 
tion of Vegetables. I am, in this part of my work, 
to confine myself to the making and managing of 
Hot-Beds ; and, I have selected the Cabbage-Plant^ 
as a subject for explaining my meaning, because 1 
think that the raising of that plant is one of the 
most useful purposes, to which a hot-bed can be 
applied in America. 

90. But, a Hot-Bed may be applied to many other 
purposes. Lettuces may be raised in it. Pepper- 
grass, Radishes, young Onions, may be raised. 
Parsley-roots may be put in, and fine parsley ob- 
tained in March. Asparagus may be raised in this 
way. It is not worth while to attempt to bring 
Cucumbers and Melons to fruit in a hot-bed : but 
ihQ plants may be raised there, and afterwards put 
out in the ground with great advantage in point of 
time. Several sorts of annual /Zozijers and oi Green- 
house plants may be got forward by a hot-bed, 
which, without it, can hardly be got at all to any 
great degree of perfection. Of the management 
of these sorts of plants in a hot-bed I shall speak 
under their several names ; but, on the manage- 
ment of hot-beds, there yet remain to be made 
some observations, which have a general applica- 
tion. 

91. As to heat and air it will demand but little 
attention to manage well. But, a little Termo- 
metre, hung up, or laid down, in the bed, will be 
of use. The heat should not exceed seventy-five 
degrees in the day time, and sixty at night. If it 
come down to fifty at night it is better. If you 
cannot keep it down to sixty without giving a little 
air at night, give it, by putting something under a 



50 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



[Chap. 



light, or two lights, to let in a little of the cold. 
For, always bear in mind, that, when plants, of 
whatever kind, be drawn up, they are nearly spoiled. 

92. When the Sun comes upon the glass, it soon 
augments the heat ; and the air must be given im- 
mediately if possible, so as to keep down the heat. 
Changes are very sud»den in March, April, and 
May ; and, therefore, somebody should always be 
at hand to attend to the hot-bed. But, if the mas- 
ter be from home, there is, surely, some man ; or, 
at any rate, a wife, a son, or a daughter. The la- 
bour is nothing, the trouble very little indeed, and 
all that is v/anted is a small portion of care. 

93. It may happen that the bed will get too cool. 
It may lose its heat sooner than you could wish, 
especially if you use it for Cucumber and Melon- 
plants after you have used it for things that you 
want earlier ; and, I shall show, that this may be 
very useful in certain cases. Now, if the heat be 

» too much diminished, you may easily restore it, 
thus : make a little narrow hot-bed, a foot and a 
half wide, all round the bed. Put the dung together 
as before ; place it close to the bed ; beat it well ; 
and build it up, all round, as high as the top of the 
Frame. This is called lining ; and it will give the 
bed nearly as much heat as it had at first. If you 
do not want so much heat, line only the hack of the 
bed ; or the back and the two ends. In short, take 
as much heat as you may want. 

94. Before I dismiss the subject of hot-beds, I 
must notice, that there are other contrivances than 
frames resorted to in this kind of garden work. A 
frame is, as we here see, a wooden construction, 
for lights of glass to be placed on. For smaller 
concerns there are very convenient things, called 
hand-lights^ or hand-glasses, A hand-glass is a 



n.] 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



51 



square glass-house in miniature. Its sides are 
about eight inches high from the ground to the 
eves. The roof rises from each side in a triangular 
form, so that it comes to a point at the top, as a 
pyramid does, the base of which is a square. At 
this point is a stout ring, to lift the hand-glass about 
by. The panes of glass are fixed in lead ; and the 
rim round the bottom is made of iron or of wood. 
Any glazier can make these hand-lights, and they 
are by no means expensive. Here, where the tax 
upon glass is so slight, they cannot be more ex- 
pensive than in England ; and there they do not 
cost much more than a dollar each. They may be 
made of almost any size. About 18 inches square 
at the base is a very good size. In the gardens 
near London there are acres of ground covered 
with such glasses. It is the custom there to plant 
out cauliflowers in the fall, and to cover them, in 
severe weather, during winter, with hand-glasses. 
A hand-glass may, in April, be put over a hot-bed 
made with a wheel-barrow full of dung. It would 
bring on cabbage plants enough for two or three 
gardens. It is handy to sow things under in the 
natural ground, in the spring, especially flowers 
that are to be transplanted ; for, on the natural 
ground, it adds to the heat in the day, and keeps 
off cold and slight frost in the night. Air is given, 
by putting a brick, or bit of w^ood, under one of 
the sides of the hand-glass. 

95. Now, look back at the Plan of the garden. 
No. I, "is the Hot-bed Ground. It is seventy feet 
long and thirty-six wide. It is wide enough to con- 
tain four rows of hot-beds, with room for linings. 
But, though a tenth part of this should not be 
wanted, the place is a warm place, and is better for 
tender things than a colder place. The entrance to 



52 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Cliap. 



it from the Western door of the garden is conve- 
nient for the carrying in of dung, and for carrying 
it out again for the use of the garden. 

96. Here would be room for a greal deal more 
beds, certainly, than can ever be wanted even in a 
gentleman's garden. But, observe, the room is no 
evil. Whatever is not used for hot-beds may be 
applied to other purposes. This is a sheltered 
spot ; and, it will, by and by, be seen, that, even if 
not used for hot-beds at all ; such a spot m.ust be 
of great utility. 

GREEN-HOUSES. 

97. My object is not to treat of any thing very 
expensive, or very curious. There are persons, 
whose taste greatly differs from mine in regard to 
shrubs and flowers ; and I by no means pretend to 
say that mine is the best. But, I can treat of no- 
thing that I do not understand, that is to say, of 
nothing with regard to which I have not had expe- 
rience. My study, as to gardening, has always been 
directed towards things that please the senses : in 
vegetables, things that please the 'palate, and that, 
to use the common saying, are good to eat : in shrubs 
and flowers, things that delight the sight, or the 
smell. Mere botanical curiosities, as they are call- 
ed, I never took delight in. If the merit of a plant 
or a flower is not to be discovered without close 
and somewhat painful examination, it has always 
appeared to me not worth the looking for. There 
is, in fact, nothing more curious in one plant, or 
flower, than in another. They are all equally cu- 
rious ; they are equally objects of wonder. There 
is more of rareness, in England, in the Indian Corn 
than in the Cowslip ; but here, the Cowslip would 
have the merit of rareness. The ice-plant, the egg- 
olant, and many others, have oddity to recommend 



11] 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



53 



them ; but, after all, oddity is but a poor recom- 
mendation. What are thousands of these wlien 
compared to a single rose bush in bloom ! 

98. I am rather anticipating here ; but, I wished 
to explain why I do not recommend any very great 
pains in the affair of a green-house. The plants 
to keep in such a place I will talk of hereafter. At 
present I am to speak of the making' and the ma- 
naging of such a place. 

f 99. A green-house is for the purpose of having 
plants and flow^ers flourishing, or, at least, in ver- 
dure and in bloom, in winter. The best place for 
a green-house, is, near the dwelling house, and, it 
should be actually joined to the dwelling house, 
one of the rooms of which should have windows 
looking into the green-house, which latter, how^- 
ever, must face the South, When the thing can be 
thus contrived, it is very pretty. It renders a long 
winter shorter in appearance ; and, in such cases, 
appearances are realities. A door, opening from a 
parlour into a green-house, makes the thing very 
pleasant and especially in a country like America, 
w^here, for six months, every thing like verdure is 
completely absent from the fields and gardens. And, 
if the expense be but small, such a pleasure may, 
surely, be afforded to the females of a family, 
though, to afford it, may demand some deduction in 
the expenditure for the bottle, in the pleasures of 
which (if, alas! pleasures they be !) the amiable la- 
dies of this country do not partake. 

100. 1 hope, that no man, who has the means to 
provide such pleasures for his wdfe, or daughters, 
will talk to me about the uselessness of a green- 
house. Of what use, then, is fine linen, when coarse 
is cheaper and will last longer ? Of what use is 
beauty in a horse, a house, or iu any thing else? 
5* 



54 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



(Chap, 



Of what use are sporting dogs and guns? The use 
of these things is, that they give pleasure ; that 
they render life pleasanter than it would be without 
them. And, why not, on the same principle, call a 
gxeen-ho\ji?>e useful? Of what is money, that 
thing which every one seeks to possess ? Of what 
use indeed, but to be expended on things, which 
tend to make life easy and pleasant ? Therefore, a 
green-house comes fairly within the scope of use- 
fulness ; for, from it the females of a family would 
receive constant amusement and delight, during a 
season when they are cut off from almost all other 
recreation. 

101. Let me not, however, in using these argu- 
ments, be supposed to doubt of the disposition of 
American husbands to gratify their wives in this 
respect ; for, many and striking as are the traits, 
that distinguish the American character, none is so 
striking, and none exalts it so much, as the respect 
and deference of the male towards the female sex. 
They talk to us about French politeness ; and we 
hear enough of the sentimental trash of romances, 
where Princes and Nobles are the heroes. But, in 
no part of this whole world are the women so kind- 
ly and so respectfully treated by the men as in 
America. Here women, in no state of life, are 
treated badly or churlishly. To insure indulgence, 
assistance, forbearance, from every man, and under 
any circumstances, it is sufficient that the party is 
a woman. In this respect no country on earth will 
bear a comparison with America. This is, too, the 
natural bent of the human heart when uncorrupted 
by vicious courses and unhardened by penury. For, 
count our real pleasures ; count the things that de- 
light us through life : and you will find, that ninety- 
nine out of every hundred are derived from women. 



ir j 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



55 



T^. be the object of no woman'^s care or good wishes 
is a sentence the most severe that can be pro- 
nounced upon man. 

102. As to the erection of a green-house, carpen- 
ters and glaziers are never wanted, and, where Lo- 
cust wood, for the sills, is every where to be had, 
and glass ^viih scarcely any tax, how elegant, how 
cheap, and how durable, may such a thing as a 
green-house be ! 

103. In America there must be heat ; but, how 
easily will any of the ingenious men in this country 
find the means of furnishing the necessary heat 
with hardly any expense or trouble ! In most cases 
the warmth might go from the parlour fire place ; 
for, all that is wanted, is completely to keep out 
frost. There is, here, no want of Sun even in the 
coldest weather ; and, if the green-house were on 
the Eastern side of the dwelling-house, the cold 
would not be any great annoyance. But, at any 
rate, the heat necessary to keep out frost might 
easily be obtained. A Termometre should be kept 
in the green-house. The heat should be about sixty 
degrees in the day time, Siud forty-Jive in the night. 

104. In England they need very little fire in their 
green-houses, except in very cold weather, which, 
indeed, they seldom have. Their great want is that 
of sun; for, nothing will do well without sun ; and 
America has plenty of this even in the coldest wea- 
ther. So that, if the frost were effectually kept out, 
that alone would give beautiful plants in winter. 
By an a^dditional heat, a growth and a bloom would 
be constantly kept up ; and a green-house might be 
made one of the most beautiful and most pleasant 
things in the world. 

105. Of the different plants suitable for a green- 
house, and of the particular treatment of each, I 



56 



THE AMERICAX GARDENER. [Chap 



shall speak under the head of Flowers ; and shall, 
in this place, only add some directions as to ma- 
nagevient, which are applicable to the whole ab- 
semblage. 

106. Air is the main thing, after the keeping out 
of the frost. Air is given by pushing up, or draw- 
ing down, the Lights, which form the top or roof 
of the green-house. Always give air, when there 
is no fear of frost. Give heat and air at the same 
time, if the weather be not mild enough to dispense 
with the heat. For, without air, the plants will be* 
come sickly. They have lungs as well as we ; and, 
though they may live, for a while, without air, they 
will be an eye-sore instead of a delight to the be- 
holder. If the sides and front, as well as the top, 
of the green-house, be of glass, (which is best,) then 
air may be given there, instead of giving it by push- 
ing up, or pulling down, the lights at top, 

107. The plants, of whatever sort or size, must 
be in what the English call pots, and what the 
Americans cMjars, Perhaps I may as well speak, 
once for all, about the shape and size, and manner 
of planting in, these pots. The shape is generally 
well known ; but, the pots ought never to be glazed. 
Plain earthen pots are best as well as cheapest. 
There must be a hole in the middle of the bottom 
of every pot, or no plant will live in it for any con- 
siderable length of time, and will never grow in it 
at all. This hole should be in proportion to the 
size of the pot ; and the pots may be from 4 inches 
to IS inches over at top, and from 4 inches to 18 
inches deep ; being one third less across at bottom 
than at the top. The smallest hole ought to be of 
the size of half a dollar, 

108. Besides the pot, there is what the English 
call a pan, for the pot to stand in, which should be 



II.] 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



57 



about 2 inches deep, and as wide over as the top of 
the pot, and, of course, a third part wider than the 
bottom of the pot. This pan should be made of the 
same materials with the pot itself. 

109. I have, in paragraph 21, mentioned, inci- 
dentally, wooden boxes, as things wherein to place 
plants ; but, I must here caution the reader against 
the practice, wherever it can be avoided, especially 
for small plants. We see plants, thus cultivated, 
placed on window sills ; and they sometimes grow 
there pretty well. Orange Trees, Large Myrtles, 
and other large exotics, are planted in tubs. There 
would be great difficulty in getting earthen things 
of sufficient dimensions for these purposes ; be- 
sides the constant danger of breaking. But, I am 
quite satisfied, that where earthenware can be got 
and used, it is greatly preferable to wood ; and this 
opinion is founded on actual experience. In my 
hot-bed of 1819, I sowed several sorts of seeds in 
little wooden boxes, I had no pots at hand, and to 
get them from New York required more time than 
I was willing to spare. The seeds all came up ; 
but, by the time that they were an inch or two high, 
they rotted at the stem, and fell down. They were 
not less than twenty sorts of seeds ; some of culi- 
nary vegetables, some of field-plants, and some of 
forest-trees. They all died. In one box there were 
planted some geranium-cuttings. They came out 
into bud and leaf; but died soon afterwards. I had 
soon afterwards got some pots, I repeated my sow- 
ing and pianting; all the seeds and plants grew and 
flourished. And, let it be observed, that the boxes 
stood in the same bed, where cabbages and cauli- 
flowers were sown without either pots or boxes ; 
and that the plants of these grew, and flourished 
exceedingly. The cause of the plants rotting in 



58 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap. 



the boxes was this : though there were several 
holes at the bottom of each box, and though these 
were properly covered with oyster-shells, the wood 
itself, sides as well as bottom, imbibed, and retain- 
ed too lo7ig, part of the water poured on the top, 
and, as the boxes were plunged into the earth of 
the bed, they imbibed moisture from the watering 
of the bed also. There was constantly stagnant 
and sour water near the roots of the plants, and 
this killed them. These boxes were of deal. If 
ty,bs, or boxes, must be resorted to, they ought to 
be of Locust, or some other hard and close wood. 
Locust is best, because imperishable. See para- 
graph 16. 

J 10. Some care is necessary in sowing and plant- 
ing in pots. The mould should be good, and made 
very fine. The first thing is to put an oyster shell, 
or piece of broken earthen ware, into the pot, to 
cover the hole at the bottom; and the hollow part of 
the shell, or other thing, should be downwards. 
The use of this is, to keep the hole open, that the 
water may find its way out of the pot, and not lie 
stagnant at the bottom, where it would become sour 
and injure, if not kill, the plant. The earth, if 
there were no shell, would fill up the hole, and, 
would, in time, become solid, and thus prevent the 
water from getting out. The shell, or broken 
earthen ware, keeps the earth hollow, and the water 
creeps under the edges of it, and thus escapes into 
the pan, whence it evaporates. In fields, we al- 
ways desire an open undersoil ; and, in a rainy 
season, you will see the crops stunted and looking 
yellow, where there is a bottom of clay, while, at 
the very same time, a bottom of sand, gravel, lime 
stone, or other open matter, exhibits them green 
and flourishing. It is upon this principle, founded 



11.] 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



on experience, that holes have been made in the 
bottom of flower-pots. The uses of pans, are, 
first, to prevent the v/ater from running about the 
places ^Yhere pots are placed ; and next to hold the 
water up to a level with the roots, in hot situations, 
a little longer than it would otherwise remain up to 
that level. See paragraph 21. 

111. As to the mere operation of sowing, or 
planting, things in pots, though a simple operation 
enough, some little attention to method is necessa- 
ry. Your mould always ought to he fine, and even 
sifted, if convenient ; for, when the quantity is to 
be reckoned by gallons, the labour cannot be great ; 
and the desire to possess green-house plants neces- 
sarily implies pleasure, rather than pain, in employ- 
ing the means to obtain them. In order to make 
myself clearly understood, I shall suppose an in- 
stance of sowing and one of planting, 

112. Suppose you have the seeds of Stocks to 
sow. Put earth into the pot enough to fill it to 
within an inch of the top, and make the top of the 

I earth very smooth. Then scatter your seeds upon 
it, and not too thickly. The§ crumble some earth 
over the seeds to the depth of about half an inch. 
Make the top very smooth again. Then take the 
pot in your two hands, and give five or six gentle 
taps with the bottom of the pot upon the ground, 
or upon a block, or some solid thing. This settles 
the earth down ; and it needs no pressing at the 
top, nor any other thing done to it. After this 
settling, ^the top of the earth should be about an 
; inch lower than the top of the pot; else you could 
. not, when necessary, give water ; for the water 
I would run ofi^, there being no place to hold it. 

113. Suppose you have a Geranium to plant, 

I which has been raised from a cutting, and the root 



60 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap. 



of which cannot be very large. 1^ t some earth in 
the pot. Hold the root of the plant upon it to see 
that it will be of the right depths if its root stand on 
that earth. Then, when you have got the earth to 
the right height, hold the plant with one hand, and 
fill up the pot, round the plant, with the other. 
Then, tap the bottom of the pot on some solid 
thing, as before mentioned, leavinjor the earth, as be- 
fore, an inch lower than the top of the pot. Put the 
pot in the pan ; and, in this case, water the plant 
moderately ; for, observe, that a plant in a pot has 
not an under-soil and dews and a mass of ferment- 
ing earth to supply it with moisture, as a plant in 
the open air has. Yet, even in the case of pots, it 
is best, unless the plant be of a very juicy nature, 
to suffer the ground to get dry at top before you 
water ; because, water falling upon freshly -w.oved 
earthy always makes it hake hard at top, which is 
very injurious to every kind of plant. 

114. These two instances will suffice for the ope- 
ration of sowing and planting in pots ; for, though 
some seeds and some plants will be larger, or 
smaller, than those h(|re mentioned, the principle is 
the same, and the difference in minute particulars 
will point itself out. If, for instance, you have 
stocks, or other little things, to transplant into pots, 
you will nearly fill the pot with earth, and then 
make holes with a little stick, or with a finger, to 
put in the roots ; and then proceed as before, and 
settle down the earth. Such little things, being 
nearly all juice, will require water directly, and 
shading for a day or two. But, about these matters 
I shall say more by-and-by, when I come to the 
cultivation of the several sorts of plants and flowers. 

115. The benches of the green house remain to 
be spoken of They should rise one above anothert 



II.] IHE AMERICAN GARDENER. ^ 61 

like the steps / a stairs, that the whole of the 
plants may share in the benefit bestowed by the 
sun ; but, there may be some on the ground, or 
floor ; and, indeed, the precise arrangement must 
be left to the taste of the owner. The arrangement 
ought, however, to be such as to make it convenient 
to get at every pot ; not only for the purpose of 
watering, but for that of picking off the dead, or 
dying leaves ; for that of stirring the earth frequent- 
ly round the stems of the plants ; and for that of 
sweeping, and even washing, the benches and the 
floor. For, let it be observed, that, besides the 
neatness of keeping, due to so choice and elegant a 
matter as a green-house, cleanliness is greatly con- 
ducive to the health of plants in a confined situa- 
tion. In short, it is beauty that is here sought ; 
and, can there be beauty without cleanliness ! 

116. In the month of June (Long Island, observe) 
the plants come out of this their winter abode. 
How they are then to be disposed of will be treated 
of hereafter, under the head of flowers ; where it 
will be seen, that the green-house, besides being a 
most charming object in winter, when all without 
is dreariness, is the best security for giving you a 
beautiful garden in summer; and that without a 
green-house, or, at least, a hot-bed, it is quite im- 
possible to have in perfection, either in America or 
in England, certain plants and flowers, some of 
which are the very greatest beauties of the beauti- 
ful family of Flora. 

117. "Nor must we forget some things, with regard 
to which a green-house would be of great use, even 
according to the most vulgar notions of utility. All 
sorts of Herbs might be potted, and kept green and 
growing in the green-house during the winter. Some 
Herbs dry well ; but, none of them are quite so good 



^'3 THE AMERICAN GARDENER [Chap. 



as when green ; and, as to Parsley^ which is wanted 
almost every day in the year, it loses all its virtue 
in the drying, smell and all. Six large pots of 
parsley, the plants taken out of the ground and put 
in pots in September, and put into the green-house 
in November, will supply a large family well ; and 
this is no trifling thing, when, for love or money, a 
sprig of parsley is not to be got for months. A Sage 
tree, a tree of Rue, one of Rosemary, one of La- 
vender, a root of Hyssop, Thyme, Penny-royal, 
some Mint, and, indeed, of every pot and medicinal 
Herb, that is usually grown in the garden, would 
be useful, as well as pleasant to the eye, during 
winter. 

118. Even when the plants are out of the green- 
house, the latter is of use. An excellent place for 
the drying of cherries^ apples, pears, quinces^ 
peaches, and other fruits ; and also for the drying 
of yeast-cakes, one of the most useful articles that 
sensible and provident house-wives ever invented. 

119. All this work of drying can, indeed, be per- 
formed by the help of the fine hot sun, in the open 
air ; but, then, wet days come ; and, sometimes, 
the being compelled to take the things into the 
house, to place them in a confined space, and in the 
shade, at best, and away from strong light, greatly 
injures, and, sometim.es, spoils them ; and, at any 
rate, they must always be taken in at night and put 
out again in the day time. All these are impedi- 
ments ; and all these impediments would be, at 
once, removed by having a green-house. Once the 
articles were placed properly in that, the process of 
drying would be completed without more trouble, 
and in about half the time required to obtain even 
an imperfect operation in the open air. 

120 For these purposes, too, only on a smaller 



IL] 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



63 



scale, a hot-bed frame^ when done with, for raising 
plants for the year, would be useful. The fram6 
and lights might be placed upon hoards, and the 
fruits, or cakes, put upon these boards. Being 
shut in, neither rains nor dews could affect them. 
They would be dried quicker, more effectually, and 
with a tenth part of the trouble that attends the dry- 
ing in the open air. 

121. Thus, then, I think, that there is use, even 
in the vulgar sense of the word, as well as orna- 
ment, in a green-house. But, I must confess, that 
its value, in my eyes, consists in its moral effects. 
It is a source of pleasure to the Mistress of the 
mansion ; to her, who has so strong a claim to at- 
tention and indulgence. I will not praise pursuits 
like these, with Lord Bacon, because, " God Al- 
mighty first planted a garden;'''' nor with Cowley, 
because " a garden is like Heaven nor with Ad- 
dison, because a garden was the habitation of our 
first parents before the fall ;" all which is rather 
far-fetched, and puts one in mind of the grave dis- 
pute between the Gardeners and Tailors, as to the 
antiquity of their respective callings ; the former 
contending that the planting of the garden took 
place before the sewing of the fig-leaves together ; 
and the latter contending, that there was no garden- 
ing at all, till Adam was expelled and compelled to 
work ; but, that the sewing was a real and bona fide 
act of tailoring. This is vulgar work to be sure ; it 
is grovelling ; but, who can blame such persons, 
when they have Lord Bacon to furnish them with 
a precedent ? 

122. I like, a great deal better than these writers, 
Sir William, who so ardently and yet so ration- 
ally diXiA unaffectedly ipTSi'ises the pursuits of garden- 
ing, in which he delighted from his youth to his old 



64 THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap 

age. But, I look still further, as to effects. There 
must be amusements m every family. Children ob- 
serve and follow their parents in almost every thing. 
How much better, during a long and dreary winter, 
for daughters, and even sons, to assist, or attend, 
their mother in a green-house, than to be seated 
with her at cards, or at any other amusement that 
can be conceived ! How much more innocent, more 
pleasant, more free from temptation to evil, this 
amusement than any other ! How much more in* 
structive too ! " Bend the twig when young :" but, 
here, there needs no force; nay, not even persua- 
sion. The thing is so pleasant in itself; it so natu- 
rally meets the wishes ; that the taste is fixed at 
once, and it remains, to the exclusion of cards and 
dice, to the end of life. 

123. This is, with me, far more than sufficient to 
outweigh even a plausible objection on the score ol 
expense. Such husbands and fathers as are acces- 
sible by arguments like these, will need nothing 
more to induce them to yield to my recommenda- 
tion • with such as are not, no arguments within 
the reach of my capacity would be of any avail. 



CHAPTER in. 

On Propagation and Cultivation in general, 

124. In order to have good Vegetables, Herbs, 
Fruits, and Flowers, we must be careful and dili- 
gent in the Propagation and Cultivation of the 
several plants ; for, though nature does much, she 
will not do all. He, who trusts to chance for a crop, 
deserves none, and he generally has what he deserves. 

125. The Propagation of plants is the bringing 



[H;] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 65^ 

of them forth, or the increasing and multiplying' 
of them. This is effected in several different ways : 
by seed, by suckers, by offsets, by layers, - by 
i cuttings. But, bear in mind, that all plants, from 
the Radish to the Oak, may be propagated by the 
means of seed ; while there are many plants which 
can be propagated by no other means ; and, of 
these, the Radish and the Oak are two. Let me 
just qualify, here, by observing, that I enter not 
mto the deep question (which so many have puz- 
zled their heads with) of equivocal generation, I 
confine myself to things of which we have a cer- 
tain knowledge. 

With regard to Propagation by means other than 
that of seed, I shall speak of it fully enough under 
the names of the several plants, which are, as to 
the way of propagating them, to be considered as 
exceptions to the general rule. Therefore, I shall, 
in the present Chapter, treat of propagation by 
seed only. 

126. Cultivation must, of course, differ in some 
respects, to suit itself to certain differences in the 
plants to be cultivated ; but, there are some prin- 
ciples and rules, which apply to the cultivation of 
all plants ; and it is of these only that I propose to 
speak in the present Chapter. 

127. It is quite useless, indeed it is grossly ab- 
surd, to prepare land, and to incur trouble and ex- 
pense, without duly, and even very carefully, at- 
tending to the seed that we are going to sow. The 
sort, the genuineness, the soundness, are all mat- 
ters to be attended to, if we mean to avoid morti- 
fication and loss. Therefore, the first thing is, the 

SORT OF SEED. 

128. We should make sure here ; for, what a loss 
o have late cabbages instead of early ones ! As to 



66 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap 



beans, peas, and many other things, there cannot 
easily be mistake or deception. But, as to cab- 
bages, cauliflowers, turnips, radishes, lettuces, 
onions, leeks, and numerous others, the eye is no 
guide at all. If, therefore, you do not save your 
own seed, (of the manner of doing which I shall 
speak by and by,) you ought to be very careful as 
to w^hom you purchase of; and, though the seller 
be a person of perfect probity, he may be deceived 
himself. If you do not save your own seed, which, 
as will be seen, cannot always be done with safety, 
all you can do, is, to take every precaution in your 
power when you purchase. Be very particular, 
very full and clear, in the order you give for seed. 
Know the seedsman well, if possible. Speak to 
him yourself, on the subject, if you can ; and, in 
short, take every precaution in your power, in order 
to avoid the m.ortifications like those of having one 
sort of cabbage, when you expected another, and ol 
having rape when you expected turnips or ruta-baga. 

TRUE SEED. 

129. But, besides the kind, there is the genuine- 
ness to be considered. For instance, you want su- 
gar-loaf cabbage. The seed you sow may be cab- 
bage : it may, too, be sugar-loaf, or more that than 
any thing else : but, still, it may not be true to its 
kind. It may have become degenerate ; it may have 
become mixed, or crossed, in generating. And thus, 
the plants may very much disappoint you. True 
seed is a great thing : for, not only the time of the 
crop coming in, but the quantity and quality of it, 
greatly depend upon the trueness of the seed. You 
have plants, to be sure ; that is to say, you have 
something grow ; but you will not, if the seed be 
not true, have the thing you want. 

130. To insure truth in seed, you must, if you 



III.] 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



67 



purchase, take all the precautions recommended as 
to sort of seed. It will be seen presently, that, to 
save true seed yourself, is by no means an easy mat- 
ter. And, therefore, you must sometimes purchase. 
Find a seedsman that does not deceive you, and 
stick to him. But, observe, that no seedsman can 
always be sure. He cannot raise all his seeds him- 
self. He must trust to others. Of course, he may 
himself, be deceived. Some kinds of seed will keep 
a good many years ; and, therefore, when you find 
that you have got some very true seed of any sort, 
get some more of it : get as much as will last you 
for the number of years that such seed will keep ; 
and, to know how many years the seeds of vegeta- 
bles and herbs will keep, see paragraph 150. 

SOUNDNESS OF SEED. 

131. Seed may be of the rigbt sort ; it may be 
true to its sort ; and, yet, if it be unsound, it will 
not grow, and, of course, is a great deal worse than 
useless, because the sowing of it occasions loss of 
time, lo^s of cost of seed, loss of use of land, and 
loss of labour, to say nothing about the disappoint- 
ment and mortification. Here, again, if you pur- 
chase, you must rely on the seedsman ; and, there- 
fore, all the aforementioned precautions are neces- 
sary as to this point also. In this case (especially 
if the sowing be extensive) the injury may be very 
great ; and, there is no redress. If a man sell you 
one sort of seed for another ; or, if he sell you un- 
true seed ; the law will give you redress to the full 
extent of the injury proved ; and the proof can be 
produced. But, if the seed does not come up, what 
proo/ have you? You may prove the sowing ; but, 
who is to prove that the seed was not chilled, or 
scorched, in the ground ? That it was not eaten by 



68 THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap, 

insects there ? That it was not destroyed in coming 
up, or in germinating ? 

132. There are, however, means of ascertaining, 
whether seed be sound, or not, before you sow it in 
the ground. I know of no seed, which, if sound 
and really good, will not sink in water. The un- 
soundness of seed arises from several causes. Un- 
ripeness, blight, mouldiness, and age, are the most 
frequent of these causes. The two first, if exces- 
sive, prevent the seed from ever having the germi- 
nating quality in them. Mouldiness arises from the 
seed being kept in a damp place, or from its having 
heated. When dried again it becomes light. Age 
will cause the germinating quality to evaporate ; 
though, where there is a great proportion of oil in 
the seed, this quality will remain in it many years, 
as will be seen in paragraph 150. 

133. The way to try seed is this. Put a small 
quantity of it in luke-warm water, and let the wa- 
ter be four or five inches deep. A mug, or basin, 
wall do, but a large tumbler glass is best; for then 
you can see the bottom as well as top. Some seeds, 
such as those of cabbage, radish, and turnip, will, 
if good, go to the bottom at once. Cucumber, Me- 
lon, Lettuce, Endive, and many others, require a 
few minutes. Parsnip and Carrot, and all the 
winged seeds, require to be worked by your fingers 
in a little water, and well wetted, before you put 
them into the glass ; and the carrot should be rubbed, 
so as to get off part of the hairs, which would other- ' 
wise act as the feathers do as to a duck. The seed ^ 
of Beet and Mangel Wurzel are in a case, or shell. ^ 
The rough things that we sow are not the seeds, but l\ 
the cases in which the seeds are contained, each ^ 
case containing from one to Jive seeds. Therefore J 
the trial by water is not, as to these two seeds, con- 



IIL] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 00 

elusive^ though, if the seed be very good ; if there 
be four or five in a case, shell and all will sink in 
water, after being in the glass an hour. And, as it 
is a matter of such great importance, that every 
seed should grow in a case where the plants stand 
so far apart ; as gaps in rows of Beet and Mangel 
Wurzel are so very injurious, the best way is to re- 
ject all seed that will not sink case and all, after 
being put into warm water and remaining there 
an hour. 

134 But, seeds of all sorts, are, sometimes, if not 
always, part sound and part unsound; and, as the 
former is not to be rejected on account of the latter, 
the proportion of each should be ascertained, if a 
separation be not made. Count then a hundred 
seeds, taken promiscuo^isly, and put them into wa- 
ter as before directed. If fifty sink and fifty swim, 
half your seed is bad and half good ; and so, in 
proportion, as to other numbers of sinkers and 
swimmers. There may be plants, the sound seeds 
of which will not sink ; but I know of none. If to 
be found in any instance, they would, I think, be 
found in those of the Tulip-tree, the Ash, the Birch, 
and the Parsnip, all of which are furnished with so 
large a portion of wing. Yet all these, if sounds 
will sink, if put into warm water, with the wet 
worked a little into the wings first. 

135. There is, however, another way of ascer 
taining this important fact, the soundness, or un 
soundness of seed ; and that is, by sowing them. 
If you have a hot-bed ; or, if not, how easy to 
make one for a hand-glass (see Paragraph 94), 
put a hundred seeds, taken as before directed, sow 
them in a flower pot, and plunge the pot in the 
earth, under the glass, in the hot-bed, or hand-glass. 
The climate, under the glass, is warm ; and a very 



70 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



[Chap. 



few days will tell you what proportion of your seed 
is sound. But, there is this to be said that, with 
strong heat under, and with such complete pro- 
tection above, seeds may come up that would not 
come up in the open ground. There may be enough 
of the germinating principle to cause vegetation in 
a hot-bed, and not enough to cause it in the open 
air and cold ground. Therefore I incline to the 
opinion that we should try seeds as our ancestors 
tried Witches ; not by fire, but by water ; and that, 
following up their practice, we should reprobate and 
destroy all that do not readily sink. 

SAVING AND PRESERVING SEED. 

136. This is a most important branch of the Gar- 
dener's business. There are rules applicable to 
particular plants. Those will be given in their pro- 
per places. It is my business here to speak of such 
as are applicable to all plants. 

137. First, as to the saving of seed, the trvest 
plants should be selected ; that is to say, such as 
one of the most perfect shape and quality. In the 
Cabbage we seek small stem, well-formed loaf, few 
spare, or loose, leaves ; in the Turnip, large bulb, 
small neck, slender-stalked leaves, solid flesh, or 
pulp ; in the Radish, high colour (if red or scarlet,) 
small neck, few and short leaves, and long top, 
the marks of perfection are well known, and none 
but perfect plants should be saved for seed. The 
case is somewhat different as to plants, which are 
some male and others female, but, these present ex- 
ceptions to be noticed under the names of such plants. 

138. Of plants, the early coming of which is a 
circumstance of importance, the very earliest should 
be chosen for seed ; for, they will almost always be 
i'ound to include the highest degree of perfection in 
other respects. They should have great pains taken 



III. I 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



71 



with them ; the soil and situation should be good ; 
and they should be carefully cultivated, during the 
time that they are carrying on their seed to per- 
fection. 

139. But, effectual means must be taken to pre- 
vent a mixing of the sorts, or, to speak in the lan- 
guage of farmers, a crossing of the hreeds. There 
can be no cross between the sheep and the dog : 
but there can be between the dog and the wolf : 
and, we daily see it, between the greyhound and 
the hound ; each valuable when true to his kind : 
and a cross between the two, fit for nothing but the 
rope ; a word which, on this occasion, I use, in pre- 
ference to that of halter^ out of respect for the m;)- 
dern laws and usages of my native country. 

140. There can be no cross between a cabbage 
and a carrot : but there can be, between a cabbage 
and a turnip ; between a cabbage and a cauliflower 
nothing is more common ; and, as to the different 
sorts of cabbages, they will produce crosses, pre- 
senting twenty, and perhaps a thousand, degrees, 
from the Early York to the Savoy. Turnips will 
mix with radishes and ruta-baga ; all these with 
rape ; the result will mix with cabbages and cauli- 
flowers ; so that, if nothing were done to preserve 
plants true to their kind, our gardens would soon 
present us with little besides mere herbage. 

141. As to the causes^ I pretend not to dive into 
them. As to the affectionate feelings^^ from 
which the effect arises, I leave that to those who 
have studied the "loves of the plants." But, as to 
the effect itself I can speak positively ; for, I have 
now on the table before me an ear of Indian Corn 
having in it grains of three distinct sorts ; White 
Corn, that is to say, colour of bright rye-straw ; 
Yellow Corn, that is to say, colour of a deep- 



72 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap 



coloured orange ; Sweet Corn, that is to say, co- 
lour of drah^ and deep-wrinkled, while the other 
two are plump, and smooth as polished ivory. The 
plant was from a grain of White Corn ; but, there 
were Yellow, and Sweet, growing in the same field, 
though neither at less than three hundred yards dis- 
tant from the white. The whole, or, at least, the 
greater part, of the White Corn that grew in the 
patch was mixed (some ears more and some less) 
in the same way ; and each of the three sorts were 
mixed with the other two, in much about the same 
proportion that the White Corn was. 

142. Here we have the different sorts assembled 
in the same ear, each grain retaining all its distinc- 
tive marks, and all the qualities, too, that distin- 
guish it from the other two. Sometimes, however, 
the mixture takes place in a different way, and the 
different colours present themselves in streaks in 
all the grains of the ear, rendering the colour of 
the grains variegated instead of their being one- 
coloured, 

143. It is very well known, that effects like this 
are never perceived, unless in cases where different 
sorts of Indian Corn grow at no great distance 
from each other. Probably, too, to produce this 
intermixture, the plants of the several sorts must 
be all of the same age ; must all be equal in point 
of time of blowing and kerning. But, be this as it 
may, the fact of intermixture is certain : and, we 
have only to know the fact to be induced to take 
effectual measures to provide against it. 

144. As to bees carrying the matter, and impreg- 
nating plants with it, the idea appears nonsensical ; 
for, how comes it that whole fields of Indian Corn 
are thus mixed ? And, in the Indian Corn, let it be 
observed, the ear, that is to say, the grain-stallc, is 



III.] THE AMERICAN GARDENER^ 



73 



at zhoui four feet from the ground, while the flower 
is, perhaps, eight or ten feet from the ground! 
What, then, is the bee (which visits only the flower) 
to carry the matter to the flower, and is the flower 
then to hand it down to the ear ? Oh, no I this is 
much too clumsy and bungling work to be believed 
in. The effect is, doubtless, produced by scent, or 
smell; for, observe, the ear is so constructed, and 
is, at this season, so guarded, so completely enve- 
loped, that it is impossible for any matter whatever 
to get at the grain, or at the chest of the grain, 
without the employment of mechanical force. 

145. Away, then, I think wc may send all the 
nonsense about the farina of the m^ale flowers be- 
ing carried to the female flowers, on which so much 
has been said and written, and in consequence of 
which erroneous notion gardeners, in dear Old 
England, have spent so much time in assisting Cu- 
cumbers and Melons in their connubial intercourse. 
To men of plain sense, this is something so incon- 
ceivable, that I am afraid to leave the statement un- 
supported by proof which, therefore, I shall give 
in a quotation from an English work on Gardening 
by the Rev. Charles Marshall, Vicar of Brix- 
worth in Northamptonshire. *' Setting the fruit is 
the practice of most good gardeners, as generally 
insuring the embryos from going off*, as they are 
apt to do at an early season ; when not much wind 
can be suflfered to enter the bed, and no bees or in- 
sects are about, to convey the farina from the male 
flowers to the female. The male flowers, have beei*. 
ignorantly called false blossoms, and so have been 
regularly pulled oflr(as said) to strengthen the plants; 
but they are essential to impregnate the female 
flowers ; i. e. those that shew the ycHimg fruit at 
their base ; This impregnation^ called setting the 



74 THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap^ 

fruity is artificially done thus : as soon as any fe- 
male flowers are fully open, gather a newly opened 
male flower, and stripping the leaf gently off from 
the middle, take nicely hold of the bottom, and 
twirling the top of the male (reversed) over the 
centre of the female flower^ the fine fertilizing 
dust from the male part will fall off, and adhere to 
the female part, and fecundate it, causing the fruit 
to keep its colour, swells and proceed fast towards 
perfection. This business of setting the fruit may 
be practised through the months of February, 
March, and April, but afterwards it will not be ne- 
cessary ; for the admission of so much air as may 
afterwards be given, will disperse the farina effect- 
ually ; but if the weather still is bad, or remarkably - 
calm, setting may be continued a little longer. If 
short of male flowers, one of them m,ay serve to 
impregnate two females 

146. Lest the American reader should be disposed 
to lament, that such childish work as this is made 
to occupy the time of English Gardeners, it may 
not be amiss to inform him, that those to whom the 
Keverend Gentleman recommends the practising ol 
these mysteries, have plenty of beef and pudding 
and beer at their masters' expense, while they are 
engaged in this work of impregnation ; and that 
their own living by no means depends, even in the 
smallest degree, upon the effect of the application 
of this fine fertilizing dust,'^ To say the truth, 
however, there is nothing of design here, on the 
part of the gardener. He, in good earnest, be- 
lieves, that this operation is useful to the growth of 
the fruit of his cucumber plants ; and, how is he to 
believe otherwise, when he sees the fact gravely 
taken for granted by such men as a Clergyman of 
the Church of England ^ 



III.] THE AMERICAN GARDENER, 



76 



147. Suffice it, now, that we know, that sorts will 
mix, when seed-plants of the same tribe stand near 
each other; and we may easily suppose, that this 
may probably take place though the plants stand at 
a considerable distance apart, since I have, in the 
case of my Indian Corn, given proof of mixture^ 
when the plants were three hundred yards from 
each other. What must be the consequence, then, 
of saving seed from cucumbers, melons, pumpkins^ 
squashes, and gourds, all growing in the same gar- 
den at the same time ? To save the seed oitwo sorts 
of any tribe, in the same garden, in the same year^ 
ought not to be attempted ; and this it is, that makes 
it difficult for any one m an to raise all sorts of seeds 
good and true. 

148. However, some may be saved by every one 
who has a garden ; and, when raised, they ought 
to be carefully preserved. They are best preserved 
in the pod, or on the stalks. Seeds of many sorts 
will be perfectly good to the age of eight or ten 
years, if kept in the pod or on the stalks, which 
seeds, if threshed, will be good for little at the end 
of three years or less. However, to keep seeds, 
without threshing them out, is seldom convenient, 
often impracticable, and always exposes them to 
injury from mice and rats, and from various other 
enemies, of which, however, the greatest is careZe^sr 
ness. Therefore, the best way is, except for things 
that are very curious, and that lie in a small com- 
pass, to thresh out all seeds. 

149. They should stand till perfectly ripe, if 
possible. They should be cut, or pulled, or 
gathered, when it is dry ; and, they should, if 
possible, be dry as dry can be, before they are 
threshed out. If, when threshed, any moisture 
remain about them, they should be placed in the 



76 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER, [Chap. 



sun ; or, near a fire in a dry room ; and, when 
quite dry, should be put into bags, and hung up 
against a very dry wall, or dry boards, where they 
will by no accident get damp. The best place is 
some room, or place, where there is, occasionally 
at least, di fire kept in winter. 

150. Thus preserved, kept from open air and 
from damp, the seeds of vegetables will keep sound 
and good for sowing for the number years stated 
in the follovving list ; to which the reader will par- 
ticularly attend. Some of the seeds in this list 
will keep, sometimes, a year longer, if very well 
saved and very well preserved, and especially if 
closely kept from exposure to the open air. But, 
to lose a crop from unsoundness of seed is a sad 
thing, and, it is indeed, negligence wholly inex- 
cusable to sow seed of the soundness of which we 
are not certain. 





Years. 


Artichoke 


- 3 


Asparagus - 


- 4 


Balm 


- 2 


Basil - 


2 


Bean - - - 


- 1 


Bean (Kidney) - 


1 


Beet 


. 10 


Borage 


4 


Broc.oli - 


. 4 


Burnet 


6 


Cabbage - - - 


- 4 


Calabash - 


7 


Cale 


- 4 


Gale (Sea) 


3 


Camomile 


- 2 


Capsicum - 


2 


Caraway 


- 4 


Carrot 


1 


Cauliflower - 


- 4 


Celery 


10 


Chervil - 


- 6 



Years 

Cives- ... 3 

Corn - - - , 3 

Corn-Salad - - 2 

Coriander 3 

Cress - - - - 2 

Cucumber - - - 10 

Dandelion - - - 10 

Dock - . . - 1 

Endive - 4 

Fennel - - - - 5 

Garlick - - - 3 

Gourd - ... 10 

Hop ... - 2 

Horse-Radish - - 4 

Hyssop - 6 

Jerusalem Artichoke - 3 

Lavender ... 2 

Leek .... 2 

i Lettuce ... 3 

Mangle Wurzel • - 10 

! Marjoram - - - 4 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 77 



III.] 





Yearg- 


MarigGld 


- 3 


Melon 


10 


Mint 


- 4 


Mustard 


4 


Nasturtium - 


. 2 


Onion - 


2 


Parsky - 


. 6 


Parsnip 


1 


Pea 


- 1 


Pennyroyal 


2 


Potatoe - 


- 3 


Pumpkin - 


10 


Purslane 


2 


Kadish 


2 


Eampion 


2 


Rape - - - 


4 


Rhubarb - 


- 1 


Rosemary - 


3 





Years. 


Rue 


- 3 


Ruta-Baga - 


4 


Salsify - 


- 2 


Samphire - 


3 


Savory - 


- 2 


Scorzenera 




Shalot - 


- 4 


Skirret 


4 


Sorrel 


- 7 


Spinach 


4 


Squash - 


. - 10 


Tansy 


3 


Tarragon 
Thyme 


- 4 


2 


To malum 


- 2 


Turnip 


4 


Wormwood - 


- - 2 



151. Notwithstanding this list, I always sow new 
seed in preference to old, if, in all other respects, I 
know the new to be equal to the old. And, as to 
the notion, that seeds can be the better for being* 
old, even more than a year old, I hold it to be 
monstrously absurd ; and this opinion I give as the 
result of long experience, most attentive observa- 
tion, and numerous experiments made for the ex- 
press purpose of ascertaining the fact. 

152. Yet, it is a received opinion, a thing taken 
for granted, an axiom in horticulture, that Melon 
seed is the better for being old. Mr. Marshall, 
quoted above, in paragraph 145, says, that it ought 
to be " about four years old, though some prefer it 
much older^ And he afterwards observes, that 
" if new seed only can be had, it should be carried 
a week or two in the breeches-pocket, to dry away 
some of the more watery particles!" What should 
we do here, where no breeches are worn ! If age 
be a recommendation in rul^^«? a<? well as in Melon 

7* 



78 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap. 



seed, this rule has it ; for, English authors published 
it, and French authors laughed at it, more than a 
century past! 

153. The reader will observe, that, in England, 
a melon is a melon ; that they are not, there, 
brought into market in wagon loads and boat loads, 
and tossed down in immense heaps on the stones ; 
but, are carried, by twos, or threes, and with as much 
care as a new-born baby is carried. In short, they 
are sold at from a dollar to four dollars apiece. 
This alters the case. Those who can afford to have 
melons raised in their gardens, can afford to keep 
a conjuror to raise them ; and a conjuror will hardly 
condescend to follow common sense in his practice. 
This would be lowering the profession in the eyes 
of the vulgar ; and, which would be very danger- 
ous, in the eyes of his employer. However, a 
great deal of this stuff is traditionary ; and, as waj 
observed before, how are we to find the conscience 
to blame a gardener for errors inculcated by gen- 
tlemen of erudition ! 

154. I cannot dismiss this part of my subject 
without once more cautioning the reader against 
the danger of unripe seed. In cases where winter 
overtakes you before your seed be quite ripe, the 
best way is to pull up the plants and hang them by 
the heels in a dry, airy place, till all green depart 
from the stalks, and until they be quite dry, and 
wholly rid of juice. Even in hot weather, when 
the seed would drop out, if the plants were left 
standing, pull, or cut, the plants, and lay them on 
a cloth in the sun, till the seed be all ready to fall 
out ; for, if forced from the pod, the seed is never 
80 good. Seeds will grow if gathered when they are 
green as grass, and afterwards dried in the sun ; but 
they do not produce plants like those coming from 



III.] 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



79 



ripe seed* I tried, some years ago, fifty grains of 
wheat, gathered green, against fifty, gathered ripe. 
Not only were the plants of the former feeble, 
( when compared with the latter ; not only was the 
' produce of the former two-thirds less than that of 
the latter ; but even the quality of the grain was not 
half so good. Many of the ears had smut^ w^hich 
was not the case with those that came from the 
ripened seed, though the land and the cultivation 
r were, in both cases, the same. 

SOWING. 

155. The first thing, relating to sowings is, the 
preparation of the ground. It may be more or 
less fine according to the sort of seed to be sown. 
Peas and beans do not, of course, require the earth 
so fine as small seeds do. But, still, the finer the 
better for every thing ; for, it is best if the seed be 
actually pressed by the earth in every part ; and 
many seeds, if not all, are best situated when the 
earth is trodden down upon them. 

156. Of course the ground should be good^ either 
1 m itself, or made good by manure of some sort, 

and, on the subject of manure, see Paragraphs 28 
and 29. But, in all cases^ the ground should be 
fresh ; that is to say, it should be dug just before 
the act of sowing, in order that the seeds may have 
the full benefit of th.e fermentation, that takes place 

i upon every moving of the earth. 

I 157. Never sow when the ground is wet ; nor, 
indeed, if it can be avoided, perform any other act 
with, or on, the ground of a garden. If you dig 
ground in wet w^eather, you make a sort of mortar 
of it : it hinds when then sun or wind dries it. The 

i fermentation does not take place : and it becomes 
unfavourable to vegetation, especially if the ground 
be, in the smallest degree, stiff in its nature. It is 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap. 



even desirable, that wet should not come for some 
days after ground has been moved ; for, if the wet 
come before the ground be dry at the top, the earth 
will run together, and will become bound at top. 
Sow, therefore, if possible, in dry weather, but in 
freshly-moved ground. 

158. The season for sowing will, of course, find 
a place under the names of the respective plants ; 
and, I do hope, that it is, when I am addressing 
myself to Americans, unnecessary for me to say, 
that sowing according to the Moon is wholly absurd 
and ridiculous, and that it arose solely out of the 
circumstance, that our forefathers, who could not 
read, had neither Almanack nor Kalendar, to guide 
them, and who counted by Moons and Festivals in- 
stead of by Months and Days of Month. 

159. However, it is necessary to observe, that 
some, and even many, things, which are usually 
sown in the Spring, would be better sown in the 
fall ; and, especially when we consider how little 
time there is for doing all things in the Spring. 
Parsnips, carrots, beets, onions, and many other 
things, may be safely sown in the fall. The seed 
will not perish, if covered by the earth. But, then, 
care must be taken to sow early enough in the fall 
for the plants to come up before the frost set in. 
The seed of all plants will lie safe in this way all 
the winter, though the frost penetrate to the dis- 
tance of three feet beneath them, except the seeds 
of such plants as a slight frost will cut down. The 
seed of kidney beans, for instance, will rot, if the 
ground be not warm enough to bring it vp. So 
will the seed of cucumbers, melons, and Indian 
Corn, unless buried beyond the reach of the influ 
ence of the atmosphere. Even early peas would 
be best sown in the fall, could you have an insu- 



III.] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



81 



' ranee against mice. We all know, what a bustle 
there is to get in early peas. If they were sown 
in the fall, they would start up the moment the frost 
li were out of the ground, and would be ten days 
' earlier in bearing, in spite of every effort made by 
i the spring-sowers to make their peas overtake 
, them. Upon a spot, where I saved peas for seed, 
' last year, some that was left, in a lock of haulm, 
] at the harvesting, and that lay upon the dry ground, 
f till the land was ploughed late in November, came 
up, in tbe spring, the moment the frost was out of 
the ground, and they were in bloom full fifteen days 
earlier than those, sown in the same field as early 
as possible in the spring. Doubtless, they would 
have borne peas fifteen days sooner ; but there 
were but a very few of them, and those standing 
straggling about ; and I was obliged to plough up 
the ground where they were growing. In some 
cases it would be a good way, to cover the sown 
ground with litter^ or with leaves of trees, as soon 
, as the frost has fairly set in ; but, not before ; for, 
I if you do it before, the seed may vegetate, and then 
may be killed by the frost. One object of this fall- 
sowing, is, to get the work done ready for spring ; 
for, at that season, you have so many things to 
do at once! Besides, you cannot sow the instant 
, the frost breaks up ; for the ground is wet and 
j clammy, unfit to be dug or touched or trodden 
j upon. So that here are ten days lost. But, the 
se*id, which has lain in the ground all the winter, 
is ready to start the moment the earth is clear of 
th» winter frost, and it is up by the time you can 
get other seed into the ground in a good state. Fall- 
' sowing of seeds to come wp in the spring is not 
pn^^ctised in England, though they there are always 
c^irous to get their things early. The reason is, 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



[Chap. 



the uncertainty of their winter, which passes, some- 
times with hardly any frost at all ; and which at 
other times, is severe enough to freeze the Thames 
over. It is sometimes mild till February and then 
severe. Sometimes it begins with severity and 
ends with mildness. So that, nine times out of ten, 
their seed would come up and the plants would be 
destroyed before spring. Besides, they have slugs 
that come out in mild weather, and eat small plants 
up in the winter. Other insects and reptiles do the 
like. From these obstacles the American gardener 
is free. His winter sets in; and the earth is safely 
closed up against vegetation till the spring. I am 
speaking of the North of Virginia, to be sure ; but 
the gardener to the South will adapt the observa- | 
tions to his climate, as far as they relate to it. 

160. As to the act of sowings the distances and 
depths differ with different plants, and these will, of ' 
course, be pointed out under the names of those I 
different plants ; but, one thing is common to all 
seeds ; and that is, that they should be sown in 
Q^ows or drills ; for, unless they be sown in this 
way, all is uncertainty. The distribution of the 
seed is unequal ; the covering is of unequal depth ; 
and, when the plants come up in company with the 
weeds, the difficulty of ridding the ground of the 
latter, without destroying the former, is very great 
indeed, and attended with ten times the lal30ur. 
Plants, in their earliest state, generally require to 
be thinned; which cannot be done with regularity, j 
unless they stand in rows ; and, as to every future ^ 
operation, how easy is the labour in the one case ^ 
and how hard in the other ! It is of great advantage ^ 
to almost all plants to move the ground somewhat , ' 
deep while they are growing ; but, how is this to ' ^ 
be done, unless they stand in rows ? If they be dis- ! 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



83 



persed promiscuously over the ground, to perform 
this operation is next to impossible. 

161. The great obstacle to the following of a 
method so obviously advantageous, is, the trouble. 
To draw lines for peas and beans is not deemed 
troublesome ; but, to do this for radishes, onions, 
carrots, lettuces, beds of cabbages, and other small 
seeds, is regarded as tedious. When we consider 
the saving of trouble afterwards, this trouble is 
really nothing, even if the drills were drawn one 
at a time by a line or rule ; but, this need not be 
the case ; for, a very cheap and simple tool does 
the business with as much quickness as sowing at 
random. 

162. Suppose there be a bed of onions to be 
sown. I make my drills in this way. I have what 
I call a Driller, which is a rake six feet long in the 
head. This head is made of White Oak, 2 inches 
by 2' ; and has teeth in it at eight inches asunder, 
each tooth being about six inches long, and an inch 
in diameter at the head, and is pointed a little at 
the end that meets the ground. This gives nine 
teeth, there being four inches over at each end of 
the head. In this head, there is a handle fixed of 
about six feet long. When my ground is prepared, 
raked nice and smooth, and cleaned from stones 
and clods, I begin at the left hand end of the bed, 
and draw across it nine rows at once. I then pro- 
ceed, taking care to keep the left hand tooth of the 
Driller m the right hand drill that has just been 
made ; so that now I make but eight new drills, 
because (for a guide) the left hand tooth goes this 
time in the drill, which was before made by the 
right hand tooth. Thus, at every draw, I make 
eight drills. And, in this way, a pretty long bed 
is formed into nice, straight drills in a very fsw mi- 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap. 



nutes. The sowing, after this^ is done with truth, 
and the depth of the covering must be alike for all 
the seeds. If it be Parsnips or Carrots, which re- 
quire a wider distance between the rows ; or, Cab- 
bage plants, which, as they are to stand only for a 
while, do not require distances so wide : in these 
cases, other Drillers may be made. And, what is 
the expense ? There is scarcely an American farmer, 
who would not make a set of Drillers, for six-inch, 
eight-inch, and twelve-inch distances, in a winter's 
day ; and, consisting of a White Oak head and han- 
dle, and of Locust teeth, every body knows, that 
the tools might descend from father to son to the 
fourth or fifth generation. I hope, therefore, that 
no one will, on the score of tediousness, object to 
the drilling of seeds in a garden. 

163. In the case of large pieces of ground, a 
hand Driller is not sufficient. Yet, if the land be 
ploughed, furrows might make the paths, the har- 
row might smooth the ground, and the hand-driller 
might be used for onions, or for any thing else. 
However, what I have done for Kidney Beans is 
this. I have a roller drawn by an ox, or a horse. 
The roller is about eight inches in diameter, and 
ten feet long, To that part of the frame of the 
roller, which projects, or hangs over beyond the 
roller behind, I attach, by means of two pieces of 
wood and two pins, a bar ten feet long. Into this 
bar I put ten teeth ; and near the middle of the bar 
two handles. The roller being put in motion breaks 
all the clods that the harrow has left, draws after it 
the ten teeth, and the ten teeth make ten drills, as 
deep, or as shallow, as the man chooses who fol- 
lows the roller, holding the two handles of the bar. 
The two pieces of wood, which connect the bar 
with the hinder projecting part of the frame of the 



III. 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



roller, work on the pins, so as to let the bar up and 
down, as occasion may require ; and, of course, 
while the roller is turning, at the end, the bar, with 
the teeth in it, is raised from the ground. 

164. Thus! are ten drills made by an ox, in about 
five minutes, which would perhaps require a man 
more than a day to make with a hoe. In short, an 
ox, or a horse, and a man and a boy, will do twelve 
acres in a day with ease. And to draw the drills 
with a hoe would require forty-eight men at the 
least ; for, there is the line to be at work as well as 
the hoe. Wheat and even Peas are, in the fields, 
drilled by machines ; but beans cannot, and espe- 
cially kidney beans. Drills must be made; and, 
w^here they are cultivated on a large scale, how te- 
dious and expensive must be the operation to make 
the drills by line and hoe! When the drills are 
made, the beans are laid in at proper distances, then 
covered with a light harrow (frame of White-Oak 
and tines of Locust,) and after all comes the roller, 
with the teeth lifted up of course ; and all is smooth 
and neat. The expense of such an apparatus is 
really nothing. The barrel of the roller, and the 
teeth bar, ought to be of Locust, which never pe- 
rishes, and the shafts and frame of White-Oak, 
which, even without paint, will last a lifetime. 

165. In order to render the march of the ox 
straight, my ground was ploughed into lands, one 
of w^hich took the ten rows of kidney-beans ; so 
that the ox had only to be kept straight along upon 
the middle of the land. And, in order to have the 
lands ^at, not arched at all, the ground was plough- 
ed twice in this shape, which brought the middle of 
the lands where the furrows were before. If, how- 
ever, the ground had been flat-ploughed, without 
any furrow, there would have been no difficulty. I 



86 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap. 



should have started on a straight side, or on the 
straightest side, leaving out any crook or angle that 
there might have been. I should have taken two 
distant objects, two objects, found, or placed, be- 
yond the end of the work, and should have directed 
the head of the ox in a line with those two objects. 
Before I started, I should have measured off the 
width to find where the ox ought to come to again, 
and. then have fixed two objects to direct his coming 
back. I should have done this at each end, till the 
piece had been finished. 

166. But, is there no other use, to which this 
roller could be put? Have I not seen, in the mark- 
ing of a corn-field, a man (nay, the farmer himself) 
mounted upon a horse, which dragged dilog of wood 
after it, in order to indicate the lines upon which 
the corn was to be planted I And have I not, at 
other times, seen the farmer making these marks, 
one at a time, with a plough ? And have I not seen 
the beauty of these most beautiful scenes of vege- 
tation marred by the crookedness of the lines thus 
drawn ? Now, take my roller, take all the teeth out 
but three, let these three be at four feet apart. Be- 
gin well on one side of the field ; mount your 
horse : load the teeth v/ell with a stone tied on 
each ; drop the bar ; take two objects in your eye ; 
go on, keep the two objects in line, and you draw 
three lines at once, all straight and parallel, even if 
a mile long. Then, turn, and carefully fix the horse 
again, so that you leave four feet between the out- 
side line drawn before and the inside tooth. You 
have already measured at the other end (where you 
started,) and have placed two objects for your 
guide. Go on, keeping these objects in a line ; and 
you have three rnore lines. Thus you proceed till 
the field be finished. Here is a great saving of 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER 



87 



time ; but, were it for nothing but the looJc, ought 
not the log to give place to the roller? 

167. If I have strayed here out of the garden into 
the field, let it be recollected, that I write princi- 
pally for the use offarraers. I now return to gar- 
den-sowing. 

168. When the seeds are properly, and at suit- 
able distances, placed in the drills, rake the ground, 
and, in all cases, tread it with your feet, unless it 
be very moist. Then rake it slightly again ; for all 
seeds grow best when the earth is pressed closely 
about them. When the plants come up, thin them, 
keep them clear of weeds, and attend to the direc- 
tions given under the names of the several plants. 

TRANSPLANTING. 

169. The loeather for transplanting, whether of 
table vegetables, or of trees, is the same as that for 
sowing. If you do this work in wet weather, or 
when the ground is wet, the work cannot be well 
done. It is no matter what the plant is, whether it 
be a cucumber plant, or an oak-tree. It has been 
observed, as to seeds, that they like the earth to 
touch them in every part, and to lie close about 
them. It is the same with roots. One half of the 
bad growth that we see in orchards arises from neg- 
ligence in the planting ; from tumbling the earth 
carelessly in upon the roots. The earth should be 
jine as possible ; for, if it be not, part of the roots 
will remain untouched by the earth. If ground be 
wet, it cannot be fine. And, if mixed wet, it w^ill 
remaifi in a sort of mortar, and will cling and bind 
together, and will leave more or less of cracks, when 
it become dry. 

170. If possible, therefore, transplant when the 
ground is not wet ; but, here again, as in the case 
of sowing, let it be dug, or deeply moved, and well 



88 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap. 



broken, immediately before you transplant into it 
There is a fermentation that takes place immedi- 
ately after moving, and a dew arises, which did not 
arise before. These greatly exceed, in power of 
causing the plant to strike^ any thing to be obtained 
by rain on the plants at the time of planting, or by 
planting in wet earth. Cabbages and Ruta Baga 
(or Swedish Turnip) I have proved, in innumerable 
instances, will, if planted ia freshly-moved earth, 
under a burning sun, be a great deal finer than those 
planted in wet ground, or during rain. The causes 
are explained in the foregoing paragraph ; and, there 
never was a greater, though most popular error, 
than that of waiting for a shower in order to set 
about the work of transplanting. In all the books, 
that I have read, without a single exception : in the 
English Gardening books ; in the English Farmer's 
Dictionary, and many other works on English hus- 
bandry ; in the Encyclopedia ; in short, in all the 
books on husbandry and on gardening that I have 
ever read, English or French, this transplanting in 
showery weather is recommended. 

171. If you transplant in hot weather, the leaves 
of the plants will be scorched ; but the hearts will 
live ; and the heat, assisting the fermentation, will 
produce new roots in twenty-four hours, and new 
leaves in a few days. Then it is that you see fine 
vegetation come on. If you plant in wet^ that wet 
must be followed by dry ; the earth, from being 
moved in wet, contracts the mortary nature ; hard- 
ens first, and then cracks ; and the plants will 
stand in a stunted state, till the ground be moved 
about them in dry weather. If I could have my 
wish in the planting of a piece of Cabbages, Ruta 
Baga, Lettuces, or, almost any thing, I would find 
the ground perfectly dry at top ; I would have it 



III.] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 89 



dug deeply ; plant immediately ; and have no rain 
for three or four days. I would prefer no rain for 
a month to rain at the time of planting. 

172. This is a matter of primary importance. 
How many crops are lost by the waiting for a 
shower ! And, when the shower comes, the ground 
is either not dug; or, it has been dug for some time, 
and the benefit of the fermentation is wholly lost. 

173. However, there are some very tender plants ; 
plants so soft a,nd juicy as to be absolutely -burnt up 
and totally destroyed, stems and all, in a hot sun, 
in a few hours. Cucumbers and Melons, for in- 
stance, and some plants of flowers. These which 
lie in a small compass, must be shaded at least, if 
not watered, upon their removal ; a more particular 
notice of which will be taken as we proceed in the 
Lists of the Plants. 

174. In the act of transplanting, the main things 
are to take care not to bury the heart of the plant; 
and to take care that the earth be well pressed 
about the point of the root of the plant. To press 
the earth very closely about the stem of the plant is 
of little use, if you leave the point of the root loose. 
I beg that this may be borne in mind ; for the 
growth, and even the life, of the plant, depend on 
great care as to this particular. See Cabbage, Pa- 
ragraph 200, for a minute description of the act of 
planting. 

175. As to the propagation by cuttings, slips, lay- 
ers and ofl?*sets, it will be spoken of under the names 
of the sfeveral plants usually propagated in any of 
those ways. Cuttings are pieces cut off* from 
branches of trees and plants. Slips are branches 
pulled off* and slipped down at a joint. Layers are 
brandies left on the plant or tree, and bent down to 
the ground, and fastened, with earth laid upon the 

8* 



90 THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap. 

part between the plant and the top of the branch. 
Offsets are parts of the root and plant separated 
from the main root. 

CULTIVATION. 

176. Here, as in the foregoing parts of this Chap* 
ter, I propose to speak only of what is of general 
application, in order to save the room that would 
be necessary to repeat instructions for cultivation 
under the names of the several plants. 

177. The ground being good, and the sowing, or 
planting, having been properly performed, the next 
thing is the after 'management^ which is usually 
called the cultivation, 

178. If the subject be from seed, the first thing is 
to see that the plants stand at a proper distance 
from each other ; because, if left too close, they 
cannot come to good. Let them also be thinned 
early ; for, even while in seed-leaf, they injure each 
other. Carrots, parsnips, lettuces, every thing, 
ought to be thinned in the seed-leaf. 

179. Hoe, or weed, immediately ; and, let me 
observe here, once for all, that weeds never ought 
to be suffered to get to any size either in field or 
garden, and especially in the latter. In England, 
where it rains, or drips, sometimes, for a month to- 
gether, it is impossible to prevent weeds from grow- 
ing. But in this fine climate, under this blessed 
sun, who never absents himself for more than about 
forty-eight hours at a time, and who will scorch a 
dock-root, or a dandelion-root, to death in a day. 
and lengthen a w^ater-melon shoot 24 inches in as 
many hours : in this climate, scandalous indeed it is 
to see the garden or the field infested with weeds. 

180. But, besides the act of killing weeds, culti' 
vation means moving the earth between the plants 
while growing. This assists them in their growth: 



III.] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 91 



it feeds them : it raises food for their roots to live 
upon. A mere /a^-hoeing does nothing but keep 
down the weeds. The hoeing when the plants are 
|l become stout, should be deep ; and, in general, with 
I a hoe that has spanes instead of a mere flat plate, 
■j In short, a sort of prong in the posture of a hoe^ 
ji And the spanes of this prong-hoe may be longer, 
] or shorter, according to the nature of the crop to be 
hoed. Deep-hoeing" is enough in some cases ; but, 
^ in others, digging is necessary to produce a fine 
and full crop. If any body will have a piece of 
Cabbages, and will dig between the rows of one 
half of them, twice during their growth, and let the 
other half of the piece have nothing but a flat-hoe- 
ing, that person will find that the half which has 
been digged between, will, when the crop is ripe, 
weigh nearly, if not quite, twice as much as the 
other half. But, why need this be said in an Indian 
Corn country, where it is so well known, that, with- 
: out being ploughed between, the corn will produce 
next to nothing I 

181. It may appear, that, to dig thus amongst 
growing plants is to cut ofl^, or tear ofl^, their roots, 
of which the ground is full. This is really the case, 
and this does great good ; for the roots, thus cut 
asunder, shoot again from the plant side, find new 
I food, and send, instantly, fresh vigour to the plant. 
' The efl^ect of this tillage is quite surprizing. We 
I are hardly aware of its power in producing vegeta- 
' tion : and we are still less aware of the distance, to 
I which the roots of plants extend in every direction. 
I 182. Mr. Tull, the father of the drill-husband- 
j ry, gives the following account of the manner, in 
I which he discovered the distance to which certain 
roots extend. I should observe here, that he was 
led to think of the drilling of crops in the fields of 



92 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap 



England, from having, when in France, observed 
the effects of inner-tillage on the vines, in the vine- 
yards. If he had visited America instead of France, 
he would have seen the effects of that tillage, in a 
still more striking light, on plants, in your Indian 
Corn fields; for, he would have seen these plants 
spindling, yellow, actually perishing, to-day, for 
want oi ploughing ; and, in four days after a good, 
deep, clean and careful ploughing, especially in hot 
weather, he would have seen them wholly change 
their colour, become of a bright and beautiful green, 
bending their leaves over the intervals, and growing 
at the rate of four inches in the twenty-four hours. 

183. The passage, to which I have alluded, is of 
so interesting a nature, and relates to a matter of so 
much importance, that I shall insert it entire, and 
also the plates, made use of by Mr. Tull to illus- 
trate his meaning. I shall not, as so many others 
have, take the thoughts, and send them forth as my 
own ; nor, like Mr. John Christian Curwen, steal 
them from Tull, and give them, with all the honour 
belonging to them, to a Bishop, 

184. " A Method how to find the distance to which 
roots extend horizontally, A piece, or plot, dug 
and made fine, in whole hard ground [Plate II. 
Fig. 1.] the end A. 2 feet, the end B. 12 feet, the 
length of the piece 20 yards ; the figures in the mid- 
dle of it are 20 Turnips, sown early and well hoed. 
The manner of this hoeing must be, at first, near 
the plants, with a spade, and each time afterwards, 
a foot distance, till the earth be once well dug ; and, 
if weeds appear where it has been so dug, hoe them 
out shallow with the hand-hoe. But, dig all the 
piece next the out-lines deep every time, that it 
may be the finer for the roots to enter, when they 
are permitted to come thither. If the Turnips be 



riL] 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



93 




94 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap 



all bigger, as they stand nearer to the end B, it is a 
proof they all extend to the outside of the piece, 
and the Turnip 20, will appear to draw nourish- 
ment from six foot distance from its centre. But if 
the Turnips 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, acquire no greater 
bulk than the Turnip 15, it will be clear, that their 
roots extend no farther than those of the Turnip 15 
does ; which is but about 4 foot. By this method 
the distance of the extent of roots of any plant, may 
be discovered. — There is also another way to find 
the length of roots^ by making a long narrow trench, 
at the distance you expect they will extend to, and 
fill it with salt ; if the plant be killed by the salt, it 
is certain that some of the roots enter it. 

185. What put me upon trying this method was 
an observation of two lands, or ridges (See Plate 
II. Fig, 2.) drilled with Turnips in rows, a foot 
asunder, and very even in them; the ground, at 
both ends and one side, was hard and unploughed. 
The Turnips not being hoed were very poor, small, 
and yellow, except the three outside rows h c d 
which stood next to the land (or Ridge) £, w^hich 
land, being ploughed and harrowed, at the time the 
land A ought to have been hoed, gave a dark flou- 
rishing colour to these three rows ; and the Turnips 
in the row which stood farthest ofi" from the new - 
ploughed land received so much benefit from it, 
as to grow twice as big as any of the more distant [ 
rows. The row c being a foot nearer to the new \ 
ploughed land, became twice as large as those in 
but the row 5, which was next to the land -E, grew 
much larger yet. jP is a piece of hard whole ^ 
ground, of about two perch in length, and about two 
or three foot broad, lying betwixt those two lands, ^ 
which had not been ploughed that year ; it was re- 
markable, that during the length of this interjacent 



in.] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



95 



hard ground, the rows h c d were as small and yel- 
low as any in the land. The Turnips in the row 
(/, about three foot distant from the land jE, receiv- 
j ing a double increase, proves they had as much 
nourishment from the land E as from the land A, 
wherein they stood, which nourishment was brought 
! by less than half the number of roots of each of 
these Turnips. In their own land they must have 
I, extended a yard all round, else they could not have 
\ reached the land £, wherein it is probable these 
\ few roots went more than another yard, to give each 
! Turnip as much increase as all the roots had done 
in their own land. Except that it will hereafter 
appear, that the new nourishment taken at the ex- 
tremities of the roots in the land jE, might enable 
the plants to send out more new roots in their own 
land, and receive something more from thence. The 
row c being twice as big as the row must be sup- 
posed to extend twice as far ; and the row Z), four 
times as far, in proportion as it was of a bulk quad- 
ruple to the row J." 
jl 186. Thus, then, it is clear, that tillage amongst 
growing plants is a great thing. Not only is it of 
great benefit to the plants ; not only does it greatly 
augment the amount of the Crop, and make it of 
the best quality ; but, it prepares the ground for 
, another crop. If a summer fallow be good for the 
i land, here is a summer fallow ; if the ploughing 
I between Indian Corn prepares the land for icheat, 
■ the digging between cabbages and other crops will, 
J of course prepare the land for succeeding crops. 
I 187. Watering plants, though so strongly re- 
I commended in English Gardening Books, and so 
jmuch in practice, is a thing of very doubtful utility 
^ in any case, and, in most cases, of positive injury. 
A country often endures present suffering from 



96 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



long drought ; but, even if all the gardens and all 
the fields could, in such a case, be watered with a 
watering pot, I much question, whether it would 
be beneficial even to the crops of the dry season 
itself. It is not, observe, rain water that you can, 
one time out of a thousand, water with. And, to 
nourish plants^ the water must be prepared in 
clouds and mists and dews. Observe this. Besides, 
when rain comes, the earth is prepared for it by 
that state of the air, which precedes rain, and 
which makes all things damp^ and slackens and 
loosens the earth, and disposes the roots and leaves 
for the reception of the rain. To pour water, 
therefore, upon plants, or upon the ground where 
they are growing, or where seeds are sown, is 
never of much use, and is generally mischievous 
for, the air is dry ; the sun comes immediately and 
bakes the ground, and vegetation is checked, rather 
than advanced, by the operation. The best pro- 
tector against frequent drought is frequent diggings 
or, in the fields, ploughing^ and always deep. 
Hence will arise di fermentation and dews. The 
ground will have moisture in it, in spite of aU 
drought, which the hard, unmoved ground will not 
But always dig or plough in dry weather, and, the 
drier the weather, the deeper you ought to go, and 
the finer you ought to break the earth. When 
plants are covered by lights, or are in a house, or 
are covered with cloths in the night time, they may 
need watering, and, in such cases, must have it 
given them by hand. 

188. I shall conclude this Chapter with observ- 
ing on what I deem a vulgar error, and an error, 
too, which sometimes produces inconvenience. It 
is believed, and stated, that the ground grows tiredf 
in time, of the same sort of plant ; and that, if it 



; IIL] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 97 

V 

i be, year after year, cropped with the same sort of 
|j plant, the produce will be small, and the quality 
j inferior to what it was at first. Mr. Tull has 
I most satisfactorily proved, both by fact and argu- 
ment, that this is not true. And I will add this 
i fact, that Mr. Missing, a Barrister, living in the 
! Parish of Titchfield, in Hampshire, in England, 
I and who was a most excellent and kind neighbour 
j of mine, has a border under a south wall, on which 
I he and his father before him, have grown early 
I peas, every year, for more than forty years ; and, 
i if, at any time, they had been finer than they were 
every one year of the four or five years that 1 saw 
them, they must have been something very extra- 
\ ordinary ; for, in those years (the last four or five 
of the more than forty) they were as fine, and as 
i| full bearing, as any that I ever saw in England, 
r 189. Before I entirely quitted the subject of 
j Cultivation, there would be a few remarks to be 
made upon the means of preventing the depreda- 
tions of vermin, some of which make their attacks 
I on the seed, others on the roots, others on the stem., 
I others on the leaves and blossoms, and others on 
the fruit ; but, as I shall have to be very particular 
on this subject in speaking of fruits, I defer it till 
' I come to the Chapter on Fruits. 
I 190. Having now treated of the Situation, Soil, 
Fencing, and Laying out of Gardens ; on the mak- 
ing and managing of Hot-Beds and Green-Houses ; 
and having given some directions as to Propagation 
and Cultivation in general ; I next proceed to give 
Alphabetical Lists of the several sorts of plants, 
and to speak of the proper treatment for each, 
under the three heads, Vegetables and Herbs; 
Fruits ; and Flowers. 

i 

h 9 



98 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER* [Chap. 



CHAPTER IV. 

VEGETABLES AND HERBS. 

191. The word, Vegetables, is not, as was ob- 
served in Paragraph 5, quite properly used here. 
This Chapter treats of the things cultivated in the 
garden to be eaten at our tables as food ; and, they 
are Vegetables ; but, a tree is also a vegetable ; 
and such is an herh, or sl fiower. Therefore, as a 
distinctive appellation, the word, vegetables, is not 
strictly proper. But, it is the word we use to dis- 
tinguish this class of the products of the earth from 
others ; and, therefore, I use it upon this occasion. 
Herbs are usually placed as a class separate from 
Vegetables ; but, while some of them are merely 
medicinal, like Pennyroyal, others are used, not 
only in medicine and in soups, but also eaten in 
salads. Therefore, it appeared to be best to bring 
into this one alphabetical lists, all plants usually 
grown in a garden, except such as come under the 
the heads of Fruits, and Flowers. 

192. ARTICHOKE.— A plant little cultivated 
in America, but very well worthy of cultivation. 
In its look it very much resembles a thistle of the 
big-blossomed kind. It sends up a seed stalk, and 
it blows, exactly like the thistle that we see in the 
Arms of Scotland, It is, indeed, a thistle upon a 
gigantic scale. The parts that are eaten are, the 
lower end of the thick leaves that envelope the seed, 
and the bottom out of which those leaves imme- 
diately grow. The whole of the head, before the 
bloom begins to appear, is boiled, the pod leaves 
are pulled off by the eater, one or two at a time, 
and dipped in butter, with a little pepper and salt, 
ihe mealy part is stripped off by the teeth, and the 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



j rest of the leaf put aside, as we do the stem of as- 
} paragus. The bottom, when all the leaves are thus 
; disposed of, is eaten with knife and fork. The 
I French, who make salads of almost every garden 
' vegetable, and of not a few of the plants of the 
field, eat the artichoke in salad. They gather the 
i' heads, when not much bigger round than a dollar, 
and eat the lower ends of the leaves above men- 
ji tioned raw, dipping them first in oil, vinegar, salt 
U and pepper ; and, in this way, they are very good. 
|1 Artichokes are propagated from seed, or from off- 
j ; sets. If by the former, sow the seed in rows a 
foot apart, as soon as the frost is out of the ground. 
Thin the plants to a foot apart in the row ; and, in 
I the fall of the year, put out the plants in clumps of 
four, in rows, three feet apart, and the rows six 
feet asunder. They will produce their fruit the 
, next year. When winter approaches, earth the 
roots well up ; and, before the frost sets in, cover 
all well over with litter from the yard or stable. 
Open at the breaking up of the frost ; dig all the 
I ground well between the rows ; level the earth 
down from the plants. You will find many young 
ones, or ofi^sets, growing out from the sides. Pull 
these off, and, if you want a new plantation, put 
them out, as you did the original plants. They 
will bear, though later than the old ones, that 
|i same year. — As to sorts of this plant, there are 
|} two, but they contain no difference of any conse- 
i quence : one has its head, or fruit pod, round, and 
the other, rather conical. As to the quantity for a 
i family, one row across one of the plats will be suf- 
I ficient. — For Jerusalem Artichoke, see Jerusalem, 
j 193. ASPARAGUS.— Were I writing to Nova 
Scotians, I ought not to omit to give instructions as 
to which end of the Asparagus the eater ought to 

I 

il 



100 THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap 



use ; for, I know a gentleman of that country, who^ 
being at New York, on his first trip from home, 
began eating at the stem in place of the point. 
Writing, as I now do, to those, whose country 
produces, with the least degree of trouble, the 
finest Asparagus that I ever saw, and probably the 
finest in the world, no description of the plant, or 
of its uses, is necessary. But, some remarks on 
its propagation and cultivation are not wholly un- 
necessary ; for, though it demands less trouble in 
America than elsewhere, it demands some ; and, in 
proportion as it is valuable and esteemed, it is de- 
sirable that the means of procuring it should be 
well and generally understood. — It is propagated 
from seed. Gather the seed, when it is dead ripe. 
Sow it thinly in drills a foot asunder, and two 
inches deep, three weeks, or about, before the frost 
sets in. Press the earth well down upon the seed 
and, as soon as the frost sets in, but not before, 
cover the ground with muck, or litter, a foot deep, 
and lay some boards, or poles, to prevent its blow- 
ing off. As soon as the frost breaks up in the 
springs take off the litter ; and you will have the 
plants quickly up. (See Paragraph 159.) When 
the plants are fairly up, thin them to four inches 
asunder ; for, they will be four times as strong at 
this distance as if they stood close. Keep them 
clean, and hoe deeply between them all the sum- 
mer. — To have beds of Asparagus, there are two 
ways of going to work : first, sowing the seed in 
the beds, at once ; and, second, making the beds, 
and removing the plants into them. It is desirable 
to have the beds about four feet wide, that you may 
cut the asparagus by going in the paths between 
them, and not trample the beds. As to the first 
method, if the soil have a dry bottom, trench in the 



IV.] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 101 

manner described in Paragraph 20 ; but, in this 
case, where there is a root always penetrating 
downward, do not content yourself with a clean 
trench two feet deep ; but, before you turn your top 
earth into this trench^ put some good manure into 
it, and dig it into this bottom part ; and then you 
will have manure at two feet and nine inches from 
the surface. Your ground being ready, lay out 
your beds, four feet wide, with a path two feet wide 
between each two beds. In the /aZZ, having made 
all the ground right strong with manure, draw the 
earth to six inches deep from the top of the beds 
into the paths.^ which will then form high ridges. 
Then draw your drills afoot apart j and sow your 
seed, as before directed. When they are up, in 
Epring, thin them to a foot apart. Thus you will 
have them a foot apart all over the bed. Keep the 
plants clean all summer ; and, when the haulm is 
yellow in the fall, cut them off near, or close, to 
the ground ; but, let the haulm be quite dead first ; 
f et, do it before the frost actually sets in. When 
you have cut off the haulm, lay some litter upon 
the bed till spring, to prevent the frost from being 
too long coming out of the ground in spring. 
When the frost breaks up, throw some wood ashes, 
or, some other manure about an inch deep over the 
bed, having first loosened the top of the bed with 
a fork. Upon this manure, throw earth over the 
bed, out of the paths, three inches thick, and break 
it very fine at the time. In the fall, cut down the 
haulm again as before ; repeat the winter operation 
of littering ; and, in the spring again fork up, put 
on ashes or good mould, and the other three inches 
deep of earth out of the paths. Thus you bring the 
beds to be an inch or two higher than the paths ; 
and this year, if your work have all been well done, 
9* 



102 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap« 



you may have some asparagus to eat. The next 
fall, and every succeeding tail, cut down the haulm 
and cover with litter as before ; and, in the spring, 
of this third year, put on ashes again, or other fine 
manure, and throw over the beds the earth that 
will come out of the paths dug six inches deep. 
This will make the paths six inches lower than the 
beds, and that is a great convenience for weeding^ 
and for cutting the Asparagus. After this, you 
are to cut down the haulm in the fall, cover with 
litter during winter, fork up and occasionally ma- 
nure in the spring, to keep the ground constantly 
free from weeds, to dig the paths up every fall, and 
keep them clear from weeds in summer. — The 
second method of making the beds is, to begin with 
plants^ instead of seed. The plants (raised as 
above stated) may be planted in the beds at one 
year old, or older, if it so happen. Plant them at 
the same depth that is pointed out for depositing 
the seed. And, in all other respects, proceed as 
in the case of a bed begun with seed. As to the 
time of beginning to cut, some say the third year, 
some the fourth^ and some even the fifth. There 
can be no fixed time ; for, so much depends on the 
soil and treatment. Asparagus, like other things, 
ought to be used when it comes in perfection, and 
not before. — All that has here been said proceeds 
upon the supposition that the soil has a dry bottom. 
If a wet bottom, sow, or plant, at the top of the 
ground, and, in all other respects proceed as in the 
case of a dry bottom ; except, that the earth to 
cover the bed with must, time after time, be dug 
out of the paths, which will, at last, make the 
paths into ditches, three feet deep from the tops of 
the beds. By these means the roots of the plants 
will be kept some years longer from reaching the 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



103 



cold, sour soil, at the bottom ; for, whenever they 
reach that, the plants, like all others, cease to flou- 
rish, and biggin to decay. — As to the time that as- 
paragus beds will last, that depends on the soil. 
Having a dry bottom and good management, they 
will probably last three generations, and if that be 
not enough to compensate the trouble of making 
them, it would be difficult to lind a compensation. 
The general cause of the decay of Asparagus-beds 
IS, negligence ; and, particularly, the want of at- 
tention to keep them clear of weeds, w^hich, without 
doubt, are the greatest enemies of the plants. 
These send their roots down deep ; but, they rely 
also on the ground at the surface. The Lucerne, 
which will send its roots down thirty feet into a 
dry bottom, and will live in vigour for an age, if 
kept clean at top ; will, though in the best and most 
suitable soil in the world, perish in a few years, if 
grass and weeds be suffered to grow^ amongst it on 
the surface. Sea-sand, where it can be had, is as 
good as ashes, except the beds are very near the 
sea ; and there it is of little use, — With regard to 
sorts, I do not know that there is any difference, 
except such as climate produces. It is very cer- 
tain, that, to whatever cause owing, the Asparagus 
here, though so little care is, in general, taken of 
it, is far superior to that in England. From our 
frequently meeting with it at a great distance from 
all houses, there is reason to suppose, that it is a 
natural weed of the country ; and, therefore, it 
may differ from the English sort, as the Charlock 
and some other weeds do. In England the Char- 
lock has a leaf like that of the uhite turnip ; here 
it has a leaf the colour of that of an early York 
cabbage ; that is to say, of a blue-green colour. 
There may be a difference between the Asparagus 



104 THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap 

of America and that of Europe : at any rate, I 
will ascertain the fact ; for I will carry some seed 
to England. — As to the space which the beds 
ought to occupy, that must depend on the size 
of the family, who are to eat the Asparagus. 
Plenty, however, is always a blessing v/hen the 
commodity is a good one. About six beds across 
one of the Plats will be sufficient for any family. 
They might be at the west end of Plat, No. 6, 
that being the warmest. — Asparagus may be had 
in winter with the greatest facility. There are 
but few things that are worth the trouble of a hot- 
bed for the purpose of having them to eat in their 
opposite season ; but, Asparagus is worth it. And 
this is the way to have it for the table, even in Feb- 
ruary, that month of snow and of north-westera 
Sow some seed in the garden, in the manner before 
described, the rows a foot asunder, and the plants 
four inches apart in the row. Keep them clean, 
and manure them the first year. Cut the haulm off 
in the fall. Do not cover them during winter. In 
the spring fork up the ground, manure it again ; 
and, in the fall cut off the haulm again. Just be 
fore the frost sets in, take up as many plants as you 
will want for your hot-bed. Dig each plant up 
without tearing it about ; and put them all care- 
fully on a cellar floor, cover ihem over about half 
a foot thick with fresh ground, and lay some straw 
upon that to prevent the earth from drying too 
much. In January prepare dung for a hot-bed ; 
and make the bed in the manner as directed in Pa 
ragraphs 69 to 74. When the heat has sufficiently 
risen, put on ee^rth as in Paragraphs 75 and 76. 
Upon this earth put your plants, straightening out 
their roots in every direction. Let the crowns of 
the roots be about 7 inches apart all over the bed. 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



105 



j which, being a bed four feet wide and nine feet 
'|i long, will contain 180 plants. Cover the plants 
i over with fine earth, so that the surface of this 
earth be six inches above the crowns of the plants 
I Proceed as to air, shelter, and covering, in the same 
I way as directed for the cabbage-plants. In about 
twelve, or fourteen days, you may begin to cut as- 
paragus for the table ; and, if you take proper care, 
I and keep your heat up by a lining (see Paragraph 
i 93,) you may have a regular supply for a month. 
I When the plants have done bearing here, they are 
j of no use, and may be thrown away. Of all the 
things that diVe forced in hot-beds, none give so lit- 
tle trouble as Asparagus, and none is so well worth 
] a great deal of trouble. 

! 194. BALM is an herb purely medicinal. Avery 
:j Sttle of it is sufficient in a garden. It is propa- 
i gated from seed, or from offsets. When once plant- 
I ed, the only care required is to see that it does not 
I extend itself too far. 

195. BASIL is a very sweet annual pot-herb, 
ji There are two sorts, the dwarf and the tall. It 
1 should be sown in very fine earth, and, if con- 
' venient, under a hand-glass. The bunches may be 
\ dried for winter use. 

1 196. BEAN.— The only species of bean much used 
in this country, is that which, in England, is called 
Kidney-Bean^ and, in France, Haricot. Of these 
I shall speak in the next article. The Bean I here 
mean is, what is called by most persons in America 

! the horse-bean. In England there are some sorts 

1 of this bean used for horses and hogs ; but there 
are several sorts used as human food. It is, at best, 

1 a coarse and not very wholesome vegetable ; yet 
some people like it. It is very much eaten by the 
country people, in England, with their bacon, along 



106 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap. 



with which it is boiled. There are several sorts of 
these garden-beans, the best of which is the large 
flat-seeded bean, called the Windsor-Bean, The 
Long-Pod is the next best; and, though there are 
several others, these are enough to mention here. — 
The bean is difficult to raise here. It does not like 
dry and hot weather ; and it likes moist and stifi 
land. If attempted to be raised in America, it 
should be sown in the fall by all means (see Para- 
graph 159;) but, still it is useless to sow, unless you 
guard against mice. If sown in the South Border, 
where it would be shaded and protected from the 
hot sun, it might do pretty well ; and the vegetable 
is convenient as it follows immediately after the 
early peas are gone. — Ten rows of these beans 
across the South Border, four feet apart, and the 
beans four inches apart, will be enough for a family. 

197. BEAN (KIDNEY.)— Endless is the variety 
of sorts. Some are dwarf s^ some climbers ; but, 
the mode of propagating and cultivating is nearly 
the same in all, except that the dwarfs require 
smaller distances than the climbers, and that the 
latter are grown with poles, which the former are 
not. In this fine country the seed is so good, the 
soil and climate so favourable to the plant, the use 
of the vegetable so general, the propagation and 
cultivation so easy, and so well understood, that 
little in detail need be said about them. I prefer 
sowing the dwarfs in rows to sowing them in hunches 
or clumps. It is a great object to have them earlyj 
and, they may be had much earlier than they usually 
are with a little pains. It is useless to sow them 
while the ground is cold ; for they will not grow tili 
it be warm ; but, there are means to be used to ge^ 
them forwarder than the natural ground will pro 
duce them. If you have a glazed frame^ or a hand 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



10? 



i glass or two, (see Paragraph 94,) use one or the 
other in this case; but, if not, dig a hole and put in 
it, well-shaken together, a couple of wheel-barrows 
i full of good hot dung ; and lay some good rich mould 
' upon it six inches thick. Then lay on this some of 
the earliest sort of dwarf-beans. Put them not more 
i; than an inch apart, and cover them with two inches 
1 of fine rich mould. Bend some rods over the whole, 
j and put the ends of the rods in the ground ; and, 
.j every evening, cover this sort of roof over with a 
f bit of old carpet or sail-cloth. In default of these, 
corn-stalks may do. Do this when the winter frost 
is just got out of the ground, or soon after. The 
beans will be up in a week's time ; and, in about a 
fortnight afterwards, they will be fit to remove. 
The place for them is under a wall, a paling, or a 
hedge, facing the South. Prepare the ground well 
, and make it rich. Take a spade and carry away a 
part of the beans at a time, and plant them at six 
' inches asunder with as much earth about the roots 
as you can. Plant them a little deeper than they 
I stood in the bed. They are very juicy, and may 
' have a little water given them as soon as planted. 
Shade them the first day, if the weather be warm 
and the sun out; and cover them every night till 
all frosts be over. This is easily done, if against 
any sort offence, by putting boards, one edge upon 
I the ground and the other leaning against the fence ; 

but, if you have no fence, and have to plant in the 
i open ground, it will be best to plant in clumps, and 
fliower-pots put over the clumps will do for a cover- 
ing. In Long Ivsland a clod or two, or a brick or 
, two, laid by the side of the clumps, will hold up a 
large horse-foot fish shell, which is an excellent co- 
i! vering. On the first of June, 1817, I saw a farmer 
at South Hempstead, covering his beans with hurr 



108 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



dock leaves, while there were hundreds of horse- 
foot shells in his yard. The dock-leaf would wither 
in the day. A fresh supply must be had for the 
next night. This circumstance shows, however, 
how desirous people are to get this vegetable eo,rly ; 
and, by the method that I have pointed out, it may 
be had fifteen days, at least, earlier than it generally 
is. — As to the main crop, it is by no means advisa- 
ble to sow very early. If you do, the seed lies long 
in the ground, which is always injurious to this 
plant. The plants come up feebly. The cold wea- 
ther, that occasionally comes, makes them look yel- 
low; and they, then, never produce a fine crop. — 
Of the various sorts of pole-beans one sowing is 
enough ; for, if you gather as the beans become fit 
for use, they continue bearing all through the sum- 
mer, especially the Lzma-bean, which delights in 
heat, and for which no weather can be too dry; and 
which should never be sown till the ground be right 
warm. The Dwarf sorts may be sown all summer, 
from the time that the ground becomes warm to 
within seven weeks of the time that the little frosts 
begin in the fall ; for, they will, at this season, pro 
duce, for eating green, in six weeks from the day of 
sowing. I sowed them on the 15th of August, and 
had several gatherings to eat green before the 2d of 
October when the first frost came. They were not 
cut up by the frost till the 17th of October ; and 
they kept bearing till they were. — A row or two 
sown every fortnight, across one of the Plats (see 
Paragraph 60) will keep any family, however large, 
well supplied. And, perhaps twenty rows, across 
one of the Plats, for pole-beans of all the sorts that 
are desired, will be more than sufficient. It is best 
to sow several sorts of these ; for some bear early 
and some later than others. — As to the sorts of Kid- 



lY.] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 109 

ney-beans, they are, as I observed before, almost 
endless in number. I will, however, name a few : 
the Dun, or Z)ra5-coloured dwarf bean, is the earli- 
est. The same ground will bear and ripen two 
crops in one year, the last from the seed of the first 
The Yellow ; the Black; the Speckled; the Painted, 
white and red ; these are all dwarfs ; but there are 
a great many others. Amongst runners, or pole- 
beans, there are the Scarlet-blossom, the seed of 
which is red and black and the seed-pod rough 
There is a White bean precisely like the former, 
except that the bean and blossom are white. The 
Case-knife bean, which, in England, is called the 
Dutch-runner : this is the best bean of all to eat 
green. Then there is the Cranh err y-hedin of vari- 
ous colours as to seed. The L/ma-bean, which is 
never eaten green (that is, the pod is never eaten,) 
and which is sometimes called the hittter-hedin, has 
a broad, flat and thin seed of a yellowish-white co- 
lour. This bean must never be sown till the ground 
is right warm. The other sorts will grow and bear 
well in England ; but this sort will not. I raised 
good and ripe Indian Corn at Botley ; but, I never 
could bring a Lima-bean to perfection, though I put 
it in the hottest spot I could find, and though cu- 
cumbers produced very well in the natural ground 
at a yard or two from it. — For the raising of dwarf ' 
beans on a large scale, see Paragraphs 163 and 164. 
The pole-beans may be raised in the same way, 
only with larger spaces (six feet perhaps) betweeir 
the rows, and without any poles at all. The seed 
for sale is raised in this way even in England^ 
where the climate is so cold and w^et compared to 
this. The poling is a great plague and expense; 
and, if large quantities be raised, it m.ay be dis- 
pensed with : nay, it may be dispensed with in sl 
10 



no THE AMERICAN GARDENER, [Chap 



garden ; for poles look ugly there ; they intercept 
the view ; and the addition they make to the crop 
is not a compensation even for ill look, especially 
under this bright sun, where the ground is almost 
constantly dry.— Let it be observed, that every sort 
of Kidney-bean must have rich ground to produce 
a large crop. 

198. BEET. — This vegetable, which is little used 
in England, is here in as common use as carrots are 
there. It should be sown in the fall (see Paragraph 
■159 ;) but, if not, as soon as the ground is free from 
frost, and is dry, in the spring. The rows a foot 
apart, and the plants eight inches apart in the rows. 
In order to hasten the seed up in the spring (if sown 
then) soak it four days and nights in rain water be- 
fore you sow it. Put it two inches deep, cover it 
well, and press the earth hard down upon it. Sow 
the seed pretty thick all along the drill ; and, w^hen 
the plants come up, thin them to eight inches apart. 
Hoe betw^een the plants frequently : but, not very 
deep; because these tajp-rooted things are apt to 
fork if the ground be made loose very low dow-n 
while they are growing. — There are yellow and 
white Beets, as well as red ; but the red is the true 
kind : the others are degenerate. There is, how- 
ever, round or turnip-rooted^ red beet, which is 
equally good with the tap-rooted red-beet. — The 
ground should be rich, but not fresh dunged. Ashes 
of wood, or compost mould, is best ; and the dig- 
ging ought to be very deep and all the clods ought 
to be broken into fine earth ; because the clods turn 
the point of the root aside, and make the tap short, 
or forked. Fresh dung^ which, of course, lies in 
unequal quantities in the ground, invites the tap 
root, or some of the side roots to it, and thus causes 
a short or forked beet, which, for several reasons. 



IV.j 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



Ill 



is not so good as a long and smooth one. — As to 
the preserving of beets during the winter, it is well 
' known, that the way is to put them in a dry cellar, 
j with dry sand between them, or indeed, without 
I sand or any thing at all between them. They may, 
if in large quantities, and not wanted till spring, be 
, preserved out of doors, thus : Take them up three 
weeks before the hard frost is to come. Cut off 
their leaves ; let them lay two or three days upon 
1 straw, or boards, to dry in the sun ; then lay a little 
[ straw upon the ground, and, in a fine dry day, place 
' ' ten bushels of beets (picking out all the cut or 
bruised ones) upon it in a conical form. Put a lit- 
tle straw smoothly over the heap ; then cover the 
whole wdth six or eight inches of earth ; and place 
a green turf at the top to prevent the earth from be- 
ing washed, by rain, from the point, before the frost 
jl set in. All the whole heap will freeze during the 
' winter ; but, the frost will not injure the beets, nor 
will it injure Carrots, preserved in the same way. — 
If you have more than ten bushels, make another 
leap, or other heaps ; for fear of heating before 
ihe frost comes. When that comes, all is safe till 
spring ; and, it is in the spring, that season oi scar- 
city, for which we ought to provide. How many 
bushels of beets are flung about and wasted in the 
fall, the smallest of which would be a treat in the 
month of May ! — As to the quantity to be raised for 
a family, eighteen rows, planted as above, across 
one of the Plats (little more than two perches of 
I; ground) will produce 812 beets, or nearly /owr /or 
each day, from the first of November to the last of 
I May; and, if they are of the size that they ought 
j to be, here are much more than enough. Beets may 
' be transplanted, and will, in that way, get to a 
good size. See Transplanting, Paragraph 169. 



112 THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap, 



199. BROCOLI.— This plant is not much culti- 
vated in America ; and, indeed, scarcely at all. In 
England it is grown in great quantities, especially 
near London. It is there sown in the spring, and 
eaten in the fall and during the winter, even unti! 
spring. It is of the nature of the Cauliflower^ 
which see. One sort has a whitish head, and i? 
like a cauliflower, except that the white is a yellow^ 
white. Another sort has a purple head ; and there 
is another of a greenish hue. It is cultivated, in 
all respects like a Cabbage (which see ;) but, as it 
is large, it must be placed at wider distances, not 
less than two feet and a half each way. If raised 
very early in the spring and planted out in June,, 
and in good ground, as cool as can be got, it will 
have heads in October ; and, if any of the plants 
have not then perfected their heads, when ihe hard 
frost is coming, they may be treated like those of 
the spring-sown cauliflowers which have not per- 
fected their heads at this season. ^ — Fifty of this 
plant, for the fall, may be enough ; and they ought 
to be planted out in the South Border in order to 
be kept as cool as possible. The white sort is 
deemed the handsomest ; but, the others are more 
hardy, — To have Brocoli in the spring : that is to 
say, in May (for New York) is the thing ! The thing 
m.ay be done ; for I had some pretty good in May 
1818. — Sow in June. Transplant in July ; put the 
plants at 2^ feet apart. Till well between ; and 
earth up the stems of the plants in August. They 
will be very tall and stout, in good ground, in No- 
vember ; and a sharp frost or two will not hurt 
them. But, to keep them through the winter is a 
troublesome thing. Nevertheless, to have them at 
New York or Boston in May, and, at Philadelphia 
late in April; to have something little short of a 



IV.] 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



113 



cauliflower at that season, is worth some trouble^ 
and even some expense ; for, at that very season, 
the people of New York, are carrying home 2i;i7<f 
dock leaves from market^ bought at three or four 
cents a handful ! This is the way to go to work to 
have Brocoli at this season. Five rows, across one 
of the Plats in the garden, will contain 110 plants. 
The space they will occupy will be 56 feet long, 
and lO.f feet wide from out-side row to out-side row. 
Now, all this space must have a covering during 
the time that the ground is completely locked up by 
the frost. And this is the way to cover it. Before 
the ground be hard frozen, put some stout stakes in 
the ground on both out-sides of the out-side rows, 
and at about a foot from the stems of the plants. 
Let these stakes be about a foot higher than the 
tops of the leaves of the plants ; and that will make 
the stakes about four feet high. Let these stakes 
(which should not be less than three inches through) 
have Si fork at the upper end to lodge a pole upon 
to go from stake to stake across the plantation. 
That these poles may not bend in the middle, by- 
and-by, when the covering is put on, put another 
row of forked stakes along the middle, or near the 
middle of the plantation. From out-side row of 
stakes to out-side row of stakes will be twelve feet, 
and a half. The stakes are to be four feet asunder 
in the long rows, and they will be about six feet 
asunder across the plantation. Lay stovt poles 
across, and let each pole rest in the forks of ther 
three stakes. Then tie some stout rods longways 
upon the poles, at about nine inches from each 
other. Then some small rods across them at nine 
inches from each other. Then tie small rods along 
the sides and at the ends from stake to stake, nine 
inches apart, and upright rods against these, nine 
10* 



114 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



[Chap. 



inches apart. Thus you have a sort of net-work 
over the whole plantation. And, there let it stand, 
till the rains are over, and until the winter is fairly 
set in, which, at New York, may be about Christ- 
mas. When all is frozen hard up, cover close over 
the lattice work a foot thick with straw, at the least, 
and lay on something to prevent the straw from 
moving. Then set up straw, or corn stalks, against 
the sides and the ends of the erection. Place the 
straw or stalks a foot thick at least, and fasten them 
well up, so as to keep out, net the frost, but all 
light and all occasional thaws from entering. Thus 
let the whole remain till the breaking up of the 
frost : and then take all aivay. Do not wait till the 
frost is out of the ground ; but, take away as soon 
as the grand breaking up comes. You will find 
the plantation as green as it was when you closed 
it up. This will be about the middle of March 
(Long Island ;) and though there will be many and 
sharp frosts after this, these will not injure the 
plants. As soon as the ground is dry at top, hoe 
deep amongst the plants ; hoe again in about ten 
days ; and again in another ten days ; and, about 
the first week in May, or in the second at latest, 
you will begin to cut Brocoli to eat. The heads 
will come in one after another ; and, recollect, that 
you have 110 heads, which is nearly 4 a day for a 
month; and this, you will observe, at a season, 
when people are glad to buy dock-leaves to eat ! 
When we talk of trouble, what is trouble but la- 
bour ; and what is labour but a thing to be bought ? 
I am supposing a case where a gardener is kept; 
and, pray, what has he else to do ? But, suppose a 
man to be hired expressly, would he not go to the 
wood and get the materials and make the lattice 
work in a day ? Would it take him more than an- 



IV.J THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 115 

Other day to lay on the straw ! Here, then, are two 
dollars; and, supposing the straw and the stakes 
and poles and rods to be bought, the straw would 
be nearly as good foi litter afterwards, and the 
poles, stakes and rods would last for many years, if 
tied up in bundles and laid safely away from winter 
to winter. 

200. BURNET is a well known grass, or cattle 
plant. It is used by some in salads. When bruised, 
or cut, it smells like cucumber. It is a perennial, 
and a very poor thing. 

201. CABBAGE.— The way to raise Cabbage- 
Plants in a hot-bed has been given in Paragraphs 77 
to 96. — In the open ground you may put your seed 
rows at six inches distance, and put the seeds thin 
in the row. As soon as up, thin the plants to three 

I inches in the row. The next thing is transplant- 
i ing ; and I will speak of that before I speak of 
seasons, sorts, and preserving during winter. — Of 
the preparation and state of the ground, and of the 
proper weather for transplanting, I have spoken in 
I Paragraphs 169 to 175. Read those paragraphs 
carefully again, and bear their contents in mind. 
But,/to have fine cabbages, of any sort, the plants 
j must be twice transplanted. First, they should be 
taken from the seed bed (where they have been 
sown in drills near to each other,) and put out into 
fresh-dug, well broken ground, at six inches apart 
every way. This is called pricking out. By stand- 
i ing here about fifteen or twenty days, they get 
straight and strong, stand erect, and have a straight 
and stout stem. Out of this plantation they come 
nearly all of a size ; the roots of all are in the 
same state ; and, they strike quicker into the ground 
where they are to stand for a crop. — But, if you do 
not, whether from negligence or want of time, prick 



116 THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap, 

your plants out, choose the strongest, if you do not 
want them all ; and, at any rate, do not plant strong 
and weak promiscuously, but put each by them- 
selves. If you do not intend to prick out, leave 
the plants thinner in the seed bed, and hoe deep be- 
tween them while they stand there. Besides this 
you may pass a sharp spade along under the rows, 
and cut off the top-roots ; for they must be short- 
ened when the plants are transplanted. This, if 
done a week or ten days before transplanting will 
give the plants a more bushy root,' and will, in 
some measure, supply the place of pricking out. — 
Having the plants ready for transplanting ; and hav- 
ing the ground and weather as described in Para- 
graph 170, you proceed to your work, thus : dig the 
plants up, that is, loosen the ground under them 
with a spade, to prevent their being stripped too 
much of their roots. Put them in rows of course* 
The setting-stick should be the upper part of a 
spade or shovel handle. The eye of the spade is 
the handle of the stick. From the bottom of the 
eye to the point of the stick should be about nine 
inches in length. The stick should not be tapering ; 
but nearly of equal thickness all the way down, to 
within an inch and a half of the point, where it must 
be tapered off to the point. If the wood be cut 
away all round, to the thickness of a dollar, and 
iron put round in its stead, it makes a very com- 
plete tool. The iron becomes bright, and the earth 
does not adhere to it, as it does to wood. Having 
the plant in one hand, and the stick in the other, 
make a hole suitable to the root that it is to receive* 
Put in the root in such way as that the earth, when 
pressed in, will be on a level with the butt-ends of 
the lower, or outward, leaves of the plant. Let the 
plant be rather higher than lower than this ; for, care 



jt IV.] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 117 

must be taken not to put the plant so low as for the 
I earth to fall, or be washed, into the heart of the plant, 

nor even into the inside of the bottom leaves. The 
jj stem of a cabbage, and stems of all the cabbage 
|i kind, send out roots from all the parts of them that 
jj are put beneath the surface of the ground. It is 
J good, therefore, to plant as deep as you can without 
I injury to the leaves. — The next consideration is, 
I the fastening of the plant in the ground. I can- 
I not do better than repeat here what I have said 
I in my Year's Residence, Paragraphs 83 and 84. 
' " The hoie is made deeper than the length of the 
f roots ; but the root should not be bent at the point, 

if it can be avoided. Then, while one hand holds 
; the plant, with its root in the hole, the other hand 

applies the setting stick to the earth on one side of 
j the hole, the stick being held in such a way as to 
[\ form a sharp triangle with the plant. Then, push- 
i; ing the stick down, so that its point go a little 
i deeper than the point of the root, and giving it a 

little twist, it presses the earth against the point, or 
I bottom of the root." And thus all is safe, and the 
i plant is sure to grow. The general, and almost 

universal, fault, is, that the planter, when he has 
• put the root into the hole, draws the earth up 
; against the upper part of the root, and, if he press 
ij pretty well there, he thinks that the planting is 
j well done. But, it is the point of the root against 
I which the earth ought to be pressed, for there the 
I fibres are; and, if they do not touch the earth 

closely, the plant will not thrive. To know, 

whether you have fastened the plant well in the 

ground, take the tip of one of the leaves of the 

flant between your finger and thumb. Give a pull, 
f the plant resist the pull, so far as for the bit of 
leaf to come away, the plant is properly fastened 



118 THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap* 



in the ground ; but, if the pull bring up the plant ; 
then you may be sure that the planting is not well 
done. The point of the stick ought to twist and 
press the earth up close to the point of the root , 
so that there be no hollow there. Pressing the 
earth up against the stem of the plant is of little 
use. As to distances they must be proportioned 
to the size which the cabbages usually come to ; 
and the size (difference of soil out of the question) 
varies with the sort. However, for the very small 
sorts, the Early Dwarf and the Early Sea-Green^ 
a foot apart in all directions is enough ; for there is 
no occasion to waste garden ground ; and you do 
not want such things to stand long, and the plants 
are in plenty as to number. The next size is the 
Early York, which may have 16 inches every way. 
The Sugar-loaf may have 20 inches. The Bat- 
tersea and Savoy two feet and a half. The large 
sorts, as the Drum-head and others, 3 feet at least* 
Now, with regard to tillage, keep the ground clear 
of weeds. But, whether there be weeds or not, 
hoe between the plants in ten days after they are 
planted. The reasons for this are amply stated in 
Paragraphs 176 to 186. You cannot dig between 
the plants, w^hich stand at the smallest distances ; 
but you may, and ought, to dig once, if not twice, 
during their growth, between all the rest. To pre- ^ 
vent a sudden check by breaking all the roots at 3 
once, in hot weather, dig every other interval, leave h 
the rest, and dig them a week later. All the larger i 
sorts of cabbages should, about the time that their I 
heads are beginning to form, be earthed up ; that is, >' 
have the earth from the surface draw up against the 
stem ; and, the taller the plants are, the more ne- 
cessary this is, and the higher should the earth be 
drawn. After the earth has been thus drawn up 



I rVj . THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 119 

, from the surface, dig, or hoe deep, the rest of the 
ground. — -Thus the crop will be brought to perfec- 
tion.— As to sorts, the earliest is the Early Dwarf, 
|i (sometimes called the Early Salisbury ;) the next 
is the Early Sea Green ; then comes the Early 
York. Perhaps any one of them may do ; but the 
I first will head ten days sooner than the last. The 
Sugar-loaf, sweetest and richest of all cabbages, if 
I sown and transplanted when Early Yorks are, will 
j head nearly a month later. It is an excellent cab- 
I bage to come in in July and August. Some sown 
i three weeks later will carry you through Septem- 
ber and October ; and some sown in June and 
transplanted in July, will carry you on till Christ- 
mas. For the winter use, there really needs no- 
thing but the Dwarf Green Savoy. When good 
i and true to kind it is very much curled and of a 
■ very deep green. It should be sown as soon as 
the ground is at all warm, and planted out as soon 
as stout enough. By November it will have large 
and close heads weighing from 5 to 8 pounds each. 
This is the best of all winter-cabbages. If you 
' have Drum-heads, or other large cabbages, the 
time of sowing and that of transplanting are the 
I same as those for the Savoy. But, let me observe 
j here, that the early sorts of cabbage keep, during 
I winter, as well as the large, late sorts. It is an 
j error to suppose, that those cabbages only, which 
j' will not come to perfection till the approach of 
winter, will keep well. The Early York, sown in 
^ June, will be right hard in November, and will 
keep as well as the Drum-head, or any of the coarse 
j and strong-smelling cabbages. The Early Yorks 
are not so big as the Drum-heads ; but, observe, 
that as the former require but 16 inches distance, 
^ and the latter 3 feet, five of the former stand on 



120 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap. 



the ground of one of the latter. So that, perhaps, 
the Early Yorks will be the largest crop after all. 
I have tried the keeping of both ; and I know that 
the fine Cabbages keep as well as the coarse ones. 
The Red Cabbage is raised and cultivated in the 
same season and same manner as the Green Savoy. 
There are many other sorts of cabbage, early as 
well as late ; and they may be tried ; but those 
above-mentioned are certainly sorts enough for any 
family. — The preserving of cabbages during the 
winter is all that remains to be treated.of under the 
word cabbage ; but, as every reader must know, it 
is a matter of great importance ; for on it depends 
the supply of cabbages for four months in the year, 
North of Virginia and South of Boston, and for six 
months in the year when you get as far North as 
the Province of New Brunswick. — The cellar is a 
poor place. The barn is worse. The cabbages 
get putrid parts about them. If green vegetables 
be not fed from the earth, and be in an unfrozen 
state, they will either wither or rot. Nothing is 
nastier than putrid cabbage ; and one rotten cab- 
bage will communicate its offensiveness to a whole 
parcel. Pits you cannot open in winter. To turn , 
the heads down and cover them with earth while i 
the root stands up in the air, is liable to the same ^ 
objection. The cabbages are pretty safe ; but you , 
cannot get at them during the winter. I have tried , 
all the ways that I ever saw practised, or that I ^ 
ever heard of; and the following method I found | 
to answer every purpose ; it is the surest preserva- j 
tion, and gives the least trouble, whether in the ^ 
putting together or in the taking away for use. — | 
Lay out a piece of ground, four feet wide, and in | 
length proportioned to your quantity of cabbages \ , 
to be preserved. Dig, on each side of it, a little I 



IV.] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 121 

trench, a foot deep, and throw the earth up on the 
four-feet bed. Make the top of the bed level and 
smooth. Lay some poles, or old rails, at a foot 
apart, long-ways, upon the bed. Then put some 
smaller poles, or stout sticks cross ways on the 
rails or poles, and put these last at five or six in- 
ches apart. Upon these lay, corn-stalks, broom- 
corn stalks, or twigs or brush of trees, not very 
thick, but sufficiently thick just to cover all over. 
Make the top flat and smooth. Then, just as the 
frost is about to lock up the earth, take up the cab- 
bages, knock all dirt out of their roots, take off all 
dead or yellow looking leaves, and some of the out- 
side leaves besides ; put the cabbages, head down- 
wards, upon the bed, with their roots sticking up ; 
and cover them with straw so thick as for the straw 
to come up nearly to the root of the cabbage. Do 
not pack them quite close. It is better if they do 
not touch each other much. Lay some bits of wood, 
or brush-wood, to prevent the straw from blowing 
off. If the frost catch you, before you have got the 
cabbages up, cut them off close to the ground, and let 
the stumps, instead of the roots, stick up through the 
straw. — Out of this stack you will take your cab- 
bages perfectly ^recTi and good in the spring, when 
the frost breaks up ; and to this stack you can, at 
all times in the winter, go, with the greatest facility, 
and get your cabbages for use, which you can to no 
other species of conservatory that I ever saw or 
heard of. The hollow part below the cabbages 
takes away all wet that may come from occasional 
rains or meltings of snow ; and the little ditches on 
the sides of the bed keep the bed itself free from 
being soaked with wet. Even ix*deep snows come 
and lie for months, as in Nova-Scotia, New Bruns- 
wick, and Canada, it is only removing ihe snow a 



122 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



[Chaj 



little ; and here are ihe cabbages always /res^- ami 
good. — Immense quantities, particularly in woody 
countries, may be stacked and preserved in this 
way, at a very trifling expense. In fields the side 
trenches would be made with the plough; poles, in 
such a case, are of all sizes, always at hand ; and, 
small brush wood might do very w^ell instead of 
straw, j^r-boughs, Zai/reZ-boughs, or ced^ar-boughs, 
would certainly do better than straw ; and where is 
the spot in America, which has not one of these 
three ? — Cabbage Stumps are also to be preserved ; 
for they are very useful in the spring. You have 
been cutting cabbages to eat in October and No- 
vember. You leave the stumns standing, no matter 
what be the sort. Take them up before the frost 
sets in ; trim off the long roots, and lay the stumps 
in the ground, in a sloping direction, row behind 
row, w^ith their heads four or five inches out of 
ground. When the frost has just set in in earnest, 
and not before, cover the stumps all over a foot 
thick or more, with strawy with corn-stalks, or with 
ever-green boughs of some sort. As soon as the 
breaking-up comes, take off the covering, and stir 
the ground (as soon as dry,) by hoeing amongst the 
stumps. They should be placed in an early spot ; 
in one of the warmest places you have ; and they 
will give you (at New York) an abundance of fine 
greens towards the end of April, when a handful of 
wild dock-leaves sells in New York market for six- 
pence York money, which is rather more than an 
English three pence. — Lastly, as to the saving of 
cabbage seed. The cabbage is a biennial. It 
brings its flower and its seed the second year. To 
have cabbage seed, therefore, you must preserve 
the cabbage, head, root and all, throughout the win- 
ter ; and this must be done, either in a cellar, or 



IV.] 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



123 



under covering of some sort out of doors ; for, the 
root must be kept in the ground all winter. It is 
possible, and, I think, likely, that seed from the 
stump is just as good as any ; but as one single 
-cabbage will give seed enough for any garden for 
three, four, or five years, the little pains that the 
preservation can require is not worth the smallest 
risk. — As to the quantity of cabbages wanted for a 
family, it m.ust depend on the size of the family and 
on their taste. 

202. CALABASH.— An annual. Cultivated like 
the cucumber^ which see. 

203. CALE.— This is of the cabbage kind. There 
are several sorts of it: and, it is, in all respects, 
propagated and cultivated like the Green Savoy, 
which see under Cabbage. — The Cale does not 
head, or have, but sends forth a loose, open top, 
which in England, is used after the frost has pinched 
it, and then it sends out side-shoots from its tall 
stem, which it continues to do, if kept cropped, till 
May. In mild winter climates it is very useful and 
pleasant. It does not get rotted by the successive 
freezings and thawings, as cabbages do. It is al- 
ways green and fresh. Backward-planted savoys, 
may, perhaps, be as good ; but the Cale is very 
good too. It will, I dare say, stand throughout 
some winters as far North as Philadelphia. It is 
worth trying ; for greens are very pleasant in win- 
ter. — The Curled Cale is the best. — Its seed is 
saved like that of the cabbage. — There is a sort of 
Cale called Boorcole, and a whole list of things of 
somewhat the same kind, but to name them would 
be of no use. 

204. CALE (Sea.) — This is a capital article. In- 
ferior in point of quality to no vegetable but the 
Asparagus, superior to that in the merit of earli' 



124 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap. 



ness ; and, though of the easiest possible propaga- 
tion and cultivation, I have never seen any of it in 
America. — It is propagated by seed, and also by 
offsets. The seeds may be sown, or the young 
plants (at a year old) planted, or the offsets (for lit- 
tle shoots from the sides of the stems) planted, on 
the spot where the crop is to be produced. — The 
mode of cultivation is in beds, precisely the same 
in all respects as Asparagus ; except, that the Cale 
may be begun upon the second year. Cover the 
beds thick w^ith litter in winter ; so that the frost 
may not enter very deep; and, in April (Long 
Island) you will have plenty. — The moment ii peeps 
out, cut it, and you have a white stalk seven or eight 
inches long, which is cooked just as asparagus is, 
and is ail eaten from top to bottom. This plant is 
a native of the sea beach ; and is as hardy as any 
weed that grows. Instead of earth, you may, if 
convenient, lay sand (and especially sea sand) for 
it to shoot up through. It may be moved at any 
age of the plant. Any old stump of it will grow. 
After you leave off cutting it in the spring, it goes 
shooting on, and, during the summer it bears seed. 
In the fall the stalks are cut down, and you proceed 
with the beds as with those of Asparagus. — Two 
beds across any one of the plats are enough for any 
family. — This is, unquestionably, (after the Aspara- 
gus,) the very best garden vegetable that grows. 
Sea Cale may be had at any time in w^inter, as easily 
as Asparagus (w^hich see,) and wdth less care. The 
roots may be dug up in the fall and thrown under 
any shed with litter, or straw, over them, till you 
want them. The earth in the hot-bed must be deeper 
than for Asparagus : that is all the difference. — 
The seed is saved as easily as that of Asparagus, 
205. CAMOMILE is a medicinal herb of great 



IV.] 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



125 



use. It is a perennial, and, though it may be pro* 
pagated from seed, it is easiest propagated by part- 
ing the roots. One little bit of root will soon make 
a bed sufficient for a garden. The flowers are used 
in medicine. They should be gathered before they 
begin to fade : and be dried in a gentle sun, or in 
shade ; and then put by, in paper bags, in a dry 
place. 

206. CAPSICUM (or Peppers.)— An annual 
plant, sown early in fine earth, in drills a foot apart, 
and at six inches apart in the drills. It is hand- 
some as 3, flower, and its pods are used as a pickle. 

207. CARAWAY. — The seeds are used in cakes. 
The plant is an annual. Sow in the spring, in fine 
rich ground, and leave the plants eight inches apart 
each way. 

208. CARROT.— Read the Article Beet ; for, 
the same season, same soil, same manure, same pre- 
paration for sowing, same distances, same inter- 
cullivation, same time of taking up, and mode of 
preserving the crop, all belong to the Carrot. — 
About the same quantity also is enough for a large 
family. — Some fine roots may be carefully preserv- 
ed to plant out for seed in the spring ; and the seed 
should be taken only from the centre seed-stalks of 

' the carrots ; for that is the finest. — The mark of a 
good kind of seed, is, dfeep-red colour of the tap. 

I The paler ones are degenerate ; and the yellow ones 
are fast going back to the wild carrot. Some peo- 

I pie consider that there are two sorts : I never could 
discover any difference in the plants coming from 
seed of what has been called the two sorts. A Cow 
will nearly double her milk, if taken from common 
pasture in October, and fed well on carrot' greens^ 
or tops ; and they may, at this season, be cut off 
for that purpose. They will shoot a little again be- 
ll* 



126 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap. 



fore the time for taking the carrots up ; but, that is 
of no consequence. These shoots can be cut off 
before the carrots be put away for winter. Carrots 
will transplant Vike Beets ; but, they grow still more 
forked than the Beet in this case. They do, how- 
ever, grow large and heavy in this way, I have 
had some weigh more than three pounds. 

209. CAULIFLOWER.— It is not without some 
difficulty, that this plant is brought to perfection in 
any country, where the frost is severe in winter, 
and especially where the summers are as hot as 
they are in every part of the United States. Still 
it may be brought to perfection.— It is a cabbage, 
and the French call it the flower-cabbage. Its 
head is a lump of rich pulp, instead of being, as a 
cabbage-head is, a parcel of leaves folding in to- 
wards a centre, and lapping over each other. The 
Cauliflower is an annual plant. It blows, and ri- 
pens its seed, during the year that it is sown ; and, 
in fact, the part which is eaten is not, as in the cab- 
bage, a lump of leaves, but the seed stalks, pods, 
and blossoms, in their embryo and compact state, 
before they expand. — It is the same with. Brocoli. — 
Cauliflowers may be had to eat in the fall, or in the 
spring. The last is the most difficult to accom- 
plish ; and I will, therefore, treat first of the means 
of accomplishing that. — To have Cauliflowers to 
eat in the spring, that is to say, in June, you must 
sow them in the fall ; for, they will have a certain 
age before their heads will come. Yet, they are 
very tender. They will not endure a South of 
England winter without a covering, occasionally at 
least, of some sort; and the covering is, almost al- 
ways, glass, either on frames or in a hand-light. 
So that, to keep them through an American winter, 
there must not only be ^lass, but that glass (except 



IV.] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



127 



where you have a green-house to be kept warm by 
fire) must have a covering in severe weather. — 
They require age^ and yet, you must not sow them 
too early in the fall ; for, if you do, they will have 
little heads about the size of a dollar, and go off to 
seed at once without coming to a large head at all. 
If you be too backward in sowing, the heads do not 
hegin before the great heat comes ; and, in that 
case, they will not head till the fall. — All these cir- 
cumstances make the raising of them for spring use 
very difficult. — Sow (Long Island) first week, or 
second week, in September, in the same manner that 
you sow cabbages. When the plants have eight 
leaves, put them in a warm place, in the natural 
ground, and do not put much dung in the ground. 
The back part of the Hot-bed ground would be the 
place. Plant them six inches asunder upon a piece 
of ground that your frame will cover ; but do not 
put on the fram.e, till sharpish frosts begin to come. 
Then put it on, and, whenever you expect a frost, 
put over the lights at night. If there be much 
rain, keep the lights on, but give plenty of air. 
Take the lights off whenever you can. When the 
hard frost comes, put long dung from the stable 
very thick all round the frame up to the very top of 
it, and extending a yard wide ; and, in severe wea- 
ther, cover the glass with a mat, or old carpet first ; 
then put straw upon the mat ; and then cover the 
straw with another mat. But, mind, they must be 
kept in the dark as little as possible. When the 
sun is out, they must have it ; and, in mild days, 
they must have a great deal of air. When there 
is an occasional thawing day, take the lights ojf, 
and hoe and stir the ground ; for, they want strength 
as well as protection ; and they must have all the 
air you can, with safety to their lives, give them.— 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap. 



Thus you go on till within about three weeks of the 
general Indian-Corn planting season. By this 
time you may leave the lights off day and night. 
Ten days before Corn-planting get your ground 
ready, deeply dug and full of rich manure. Make 
holes with a spade ; remove each plant with a ball 
of earth about the roots ; fix the plants well in the 
holes at two feet asunder; leave a little dish round 
each ; water them with water that runs out of a 
yard where cattle are kept. They love moisture, 
especially under a hot sun. Give them this sort of 
water, or muddy, stagnant water, every three days 
in hot weather; hoe and dig between them also ; 
and, you will have Cauliflowers in June. — If you 
have a Green-house, the trouble is little. Sow as 
before. Put about four plants in a flower-pot a foot 
diameter at top, instead of putting under a frame. 
They will live in the Green-house like other plants ; 
and will be ready to put out as above-mentioned. 
Fifty plants are enough. They are very fine ve- 
getables ; but they come not earlier than green 
peas, — To have Cauliflowers to eat in the fall is a 
much easier matter, and then they are, in my opi- 
nion, more valuable than in the spring. Sow at 
the same time and in the same manner as you sow 
early cabbages. Treat the plants in the same way ; 
put them at two feet and a half distance ; you need 
not now water them ; they will begin to come early ^ 
in October; and, if any of them have not perfected 
their heads when the sharp frosts come, take them ] 
up by the root, hang them up by the heels in a warm ^ 
part of a barn, or in a cellar ; they will get tole- | 
rably good heads; and you will have some of those 
heads to eat at Christmas, — The seed, on account ^ 
of the heaty is extremely diflicult to save in Ame- 
rica ; but, if a fall Cauliflower were kept in a 



IV.] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 129 

Green-house during winter, and put out three weeks 
before corn-planting time, I am persuaded, it would 
bring good seed in June. — The quantity of this 
plant must depend upon the taste for it; but it is so 
much better than the very best of cabbages, that it 
is worth some trouble to get it. 

210. CELERY.— The qualities of this plant are 
universally known. There are three or four sorts. 
The white, the red, the hollow, and the solid. The 
hollow lohite is the best ; but the propagation and 
cultivation of all are the same. The whole of that 
part of the year, during which the frost is out of 
the ground, is not a bit too long for the getting of 
iinc Celery. The seed, sown in the cold ground, 
in April, will lie six weeks before it com,e up. A 
wheel-barrow full of hot dung, put in a hole in the 
ground against a wall, or any fence, facing the 
south, and covered with rich and fine mould, will 
bring the seed up in two weeks. If you have a hot- 
bed frame, or a hand-light, the thing is easy. A 
large flower-pot will bring up out of ground, plants 
enough for any family. As soon as the plants are 
three inches high, and it scarcely matters how thick 
they stand, make a nice little bed in open free air; 
make the ground rich and the earth very fine. Here 
prick out the plants at 4 inches apart; and, of course, 
9 in a square foot. They are so very small, that 
this must be carefully done ; and they should be 
gently watered once, and shaded 2 days. A bed 10 
feet long and 4 wide will contain 360 plants : and, 
if they be well cultivated, they are more than any 
common-sized family can want from November till 
May.— In this bed the plants stand till the middle 
of July, or thereabouts, when they are to go out 
into trenches. Make the trenches a. foot deep and 
a foot wide, and put them not less than five feet 



130 THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap. 

asunder. The ground that you make the trenches 
in 'should not be fresh-dug ; but be in a solid state, 
which very conveniently maybe ; for Celery conies 
on just as the Peas and early Cabbages and Cauli- 
flowers have gone off. Lay the earth that you take 
out in the iniddle of the space between the trenches, 
so that it may not be washed into them by the heavy 
rains ; for it will, in such case, cover the hearts of 
the plants, and will go very nearly to destroy 
them. — When you have made your trench, put along 
it some good rich compost manure, partly consist- 
ing of wood ashes. Not dung; or, at least, not 
dung fresh from the yard ; for, if you use that, the [ 
celery will be rank and pipy, and will not keep » 
nearly so long or so well. — Dig this manure in, and ^ 
break all the earth very fine as you go. — Then take ^ 
up your plants, and trim off the long roots. You ' 
will find, that every plant has offsets to it, coming ^ 
up by the side of the main stem. Pull all these off, 2 
and leave only the single stem. Cut the leaves of! \ 
so as to leave the whole plant about six inches ^ 
long. — Plant them, six inches apart, and fix them f 
in the manner so minutely dwelt on under the arti ^ 
ele. Cabbage, keeping, as you are at work, youi I 
feet close to the outside edges of the trench. Do i 
not water the plants ; and, if you plant in fresh-dug 
ground, and fix your plants well, none of the trou- f 
blesome and cumbrous business of shading is at ^ 
all necessary ; for the plant is naturally hardy, and, « 
f it has heat to wither it above, it has also that heat " 
beneath to cause its roots to strike out almost in- 
stantly. — When the plants begin to grow, which s 
they quickly will do, hoe on each side and between ' 
them with a small hoe. As they grow up, earth ^ 
their stems ; that is, put the earth up to them, but ^ 
not too much at a time ; and let the earth that you 



IV.] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 131 



put up be finely broken^ and not at all cloddy. 
While you do this, keep the stalks of the outside 
leaves close up to prevent the earth from getting 
between the stems of the outside leaves and the 
inner ones ; for, if it get there it checks the plant 
and makes the celery bad. — When you begin the 
earthing take first the edges of the trenches ; and 
do not go into the middle of the intervals for the 
earth that you took out of the trenches. Keep 
working backwards, time after time, that is earth- 
ing after earthing, till you come to the earth that 
you dug out of the trenches ; and, by this time the 
earth against the plants will be above the level of 
the land. Then you take the earth out of the mid- 
dle, till, at last the earth against the plants form a 
ridge and the middle of each interval a sort of gut- 
ter. Earth up very often ^ and not put much at a 
time. Every week a little earth to be put up. — > 
Thus, in October, you will have four ridges of Ce- 
lery across one of the Plats, each containing 168 
plants. I shall suppose one of these ridges to be 
wanted for use before the frost sets in for good. 
Leave another ridge to be lock-up by the frost, a 
much safer guardian than your cellar or barn-door. 
But, you must cover this ridge over in such a way 
that the wet will not get down into the hearts of the 
celery. Two boards, a foot wide each, their edges 
on one side laid upon the earth of the ridge, formed 
into ^ roof over the point of the ridge, the upper 
edge of one board going an inch over the upper 
edge of the other, and the boards fastened well 
with pegs, will do the business completely ; for it is 
not the frost, but the occasional thaws that you have 
to fear, and the wet and rot that they produce.^ — 
For the celery that is to serve from the setting in 
to the breaking up of the frost, you must have a bed 



132 THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap 

of sand, or light earth, in a warm part of a barn, or 
in a cellar ; and there you must lay it in, row after 
row, not covering the points of the leaves. — To have 
seed, take one plant, in spring, out of the ridge left 
in the garden. Plant it in an open place, and you 
will have seed enough to serve a whole township. 
For soup, the seed bruised is as good as the plant 
itself. For the number of years that the seed will 
keep good, see Paragraph 150. 

211. CHERVIL is an annual plant. Its leaves 
are a good deal like those of double parsley. They 
are used in salads. A small patch, sown m rows, 
like parslev, is enough. , . r . 

212. CIVES, a little sort of onion, which is pe- 
rennial. The greens only are used. A small quan- 
tity is sufficient for a garden. This plant may be 
propagated from seed, or from offsets. 

213. CORIANDER is an annual plant that some 
persons use in soups and salads. It is sown in 
spring. The seed is also used as a medicine. A 
small patch, probably two square yards, will be 

^"214.^ CORN (Indian.)— To have some early, the 
early sorts must be got. A dozen or two of plants 
may be easily raised in pots, as directed for Cu- 
cumhers. See Cucumber. ^ 

215. CORN-SALAD.— This is a little insignifi- 
cant annual plant that some persons use in salads, 
though it can hardly be of any real use, where let- 
tuce seed is to be had. It is a mere weed. ^ 

216. CRESS (or Pepper-Grass) is very good ir 
salads along with lettuces, white mustard, or rape 
It should be sown in little drills, very thick (aj 
should the white mustard and the rape) and cut be- 
fore it comes into rough leaf. A small quantity' 
in the salad-season, should be sown every six days 



IVt] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 133 



This salad, as well as the mustard and the rape, may- 
be very conveniently raised in a corner of a hot-bed 
made for radishes or cabbage-plants. 

217. CUCUMBER.— To give minute rules for 
the propagation and cultivation of this plant, in a 
country like this, would be waste of time. How- 
ever, if you wish to have them a month earlier 
than the natural ground will bring them, do this. 
Make a hole, and put into it a little hot dung ; let 
the hole be under a warm fence. Put 6 inches deep 
of fine rich earth on the dung. Sow a parcel of 
seeds in this earth ; and cover at night with a bit of 
carpet, or sail cloth, having first fixed some hoops 
over this little bed. — Before the plants show the 
rough leaf, plant two into a little flower pot, and fill 
as many pots in this way as you please. — Have a 
larger bed ready to put the pots into, and covered 
with earth so that the pots may be plunged in the 
earth up to their tops. Cover this bed like the 
last. — When the plants have got two rough leaves 
out, they will begin to make a shoot in the middle. 
Pinch that short off: — Let them stand in this bed, till 
your cucumbers sown in the natural ground come 
up ; then make some little holes in good rich land, 
and taking a pot at a time, turn out the hall and fix it 
in the hole. These plants will bear a month sooner 
than those sown in the natural ground ; and a square 
yard will contain 36 pots, and will of course, fur- 
nish plants for 36 hills of cucumbers, which, if 
well managed, will keep on bearing till Septem- 
ber. — Those who have hot-bed frames, or hand' 
lights, will do this matter very easily. — The cucum- 
ber plant is very tender and juicy ; and, therefore, 
when the seedlings are put into the pots, they should 
be watered, and shaded for a day or two ; when the 
balls are turned into the ground, they should be 



134 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



water ed^ and shaded with a bough for one day. 
That will be enough. I have one observation to 
make upon the cultivation of cucumbers, melons of 
all sorts, and that of all the pumpkin and squash 
tribe ; and that is, that it is a great error to sow 
them too thick. One plant in a hill is enough ; and 
I would put two into a pot, merely as a bar against 
accidents. One will bring more weight of fruit than 
two (if standing near each other,) two more than 
three, and so on, till you come to fifty in a square 
foot; and then you will have no fruit at all! Le^ 
any one make the experiment, and he will find thi? 
observation mathematically true. When cucum- 
bers are left eight or ten plants in a hill, they never 
shoot strongly. Their vines are poor and weak, 
the leaves become yellow, and, if they bear at all, 
it is poor tasteless fruit that they produce. Their 
bearing is over in a few weeks. Whereas, a single 
plant, in the same space, will send its fine green 
vines all around it to a great distance, and, if nc 
fruit be left to ripen, will keep bearing till the white 
frosts come in the fall. — The roots of a cucumber 
will go ten feet, in fine earth, in every direction 
Judge, then, how ten plants, standing close to one 
another, must produce mutual starvation ! — If yox 
save a cucumber for seed, let it be the first ftne fruil 
that appears on the plant. The plant will cease to 
bear much after this fruit becomes yellowish, — I 
have said enough, under the head of Saving Seeds, 
(Paragraphs, 139 to 146) to make you take care, 
that nothing of the melon, pumpkin or squash kind 
grow near a seed-bearing cucumber plant ; and that 
all cucumbers of a different sort from that bearing 
the seed be kept at a great distance. — There are 
many sorts of cucumbers : the Long Prickly, the 
Short Prickly, the Cluster, and many others ; but, 



IV.] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 135 



the propagation and cultivation of all the sorts are 
the same. 

218. DANDELION.— This is a well-known and 
most wicked garden weed, in this country as well as 
in England ; and I am half afraid to speak of using 
it as food, lest I should encourage laziness. But, 
there may be people without gardens, and without 
the means of purchasing greens in the spring; and 
to them what I am about to say may be of use. 
The Dandelion is as early as the earliest of grass ; 
and, it is one of the very best of greens, when it is 
young. It is a sort of wild Endive. The French, 
who call it (from the shape of its leave) Dent de 
lion, or Lion^s tooth, use it, bleached, as salad, and, 
if fine, large and well bleached, it is better than 
Endive, much more tender, and of a better flavour. 
It is very common in rich pasture land in England ; 
and cattle and sheep, particularly the former, pre- 
fer it, as far as my observation has gone, to every 
other plant in the pastures. It is full of milk-co- 
loured juice, and fuller of it than either the Endive 
or the Lettuce. In the spring (June) 1817, when! 
came to Long Island, and when nothing in the shape 
of greens was to be had for love or money, Dan- 
delions were our resource ; and I have always, 
since that time, looked at this weed with a more 
friendly eye. 

219. DOCK. — I have frequently mentioned the 
leaves of this weed as being sold in the market at 
New York. This weed and the Dandelion are the 
gardener's two vegetable devils. Nothing but oh- 
solute burning, or a sun that will reduce them to 
powder, will kill their roots, any little bit of which 
will grow, and that, too, whether lying on, or in^ 
the ground. Both bear seed in prodigious quanti- 
ties. — The Dock (which is the wild Rhubarb) puts 



136 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap. 



forth its leaves very quickly after the Dandelion ; 
and hence it is that it is resorted to as greens in 
the spring. This is, however, a coarse green com- 
pared with the Dandelion. However, it is better 
than no greens at all after five months of winter, 
which has left nothing green upon the face of the 
earth. — If a rod or two of ground, on the south side 
of a wood, were trenched and made rich, and plant- 
ed with Docks, or Dandelions, the owner, even 
though he had no garden, would not be in want of 
early greens ; and, it would be better to do this than 
to have to go upon the hunt after these vegetables, 
which, though weeds, are not, in every place, to be 
found in any considerable quantity ; or, at least, 
not without spending a good deal of time in the 
pursuit. — The Dock-leaf is very wholesome, as is 
also that of the Dandelion. They do not produce 
gripings as the greater part of the cabbage kinds 
are apt to do. — See Rhubarb, 

220. ENDIVE.— This is a salad-plant, though, 
like the Dandelion, it may be eaten as greens. — 
There are two sorts, the curled and the plain, just 
as there are of the Dandelion, which, as I observed 
before, is a sort of Endive. — The curled is prettiest^ 
and is, therefore, generally preferred ; but, the plain 
is the best. — Sow Endive in drills a' foot apart; 
when the plants come up, thin them to a foot apart 
in the row, if they be not to be removed by trans- 
plantation ; keep the ground clean, and hoe deep 
and frequently between the plants. When they 
get to a good size, they are to be bleached before 
they can be used as salad ; for, while green, they 
are bitter and not very crisp. In order to bleach 
them, you must take them when quite dry ; gather 
all the leaves carefully up with your hands ; draw 
them into a conical form, and tie them round with 



IV.] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 137 

matting or soft stnng, or little splinters of white 
oak. When they have remained in this state for 
about a fortnight, they will be bleached and fit for 
use. — The time of sowing may be as early as the 
weather will permit in the spring, and there may 
be another sowing for summer ; but, it is for winter 
and spring use that Endive is most wanted ; so that, 
the late sowings are of the most importance. Sow 
about the end of July, in fine rich ground. If you 
do not transplant^ leave the plants at the distances 
before-mentioned ; if you do, transplant at the same 
distances (a foot every way ;) do it when the plants 
have ten leaves, and tip off both leaves and roots 
when you transplant. Fix the roots well as direct- 
ed in the case of cabbage ; and, as the plant is very 
juicy, and the weather hot, plant in the evening, or 
early in the morning, water a little, and lay some 
bows over to shade for two days, but take the bows 
off at night. — The best place for Endive would be 
the shady border. The plants will come in for use 
in October, November, and December. Some sown 
a little later must be preserved for winter use. Be- 
fore the frost sets in, they must be tied up in a co- 
nical form, as before directed, and all dead, or yel- 
low, leaves must be taken ofl^ Then dig them up, 
with a ball of earth to each, and put them into light 
earth in a cellar or some warm building. Put only 
the roots into the earth; do not sufi^er the plants to 
touch each other ; and pour a little water round 
the roots after you have put them in the earth. If 
they be perfectly dry when tied up, they will keep 
well till spring. — To have them as early as possible 
in the spring, sow in the third week of August, Sind 
do not transplant. When the hard frost is come, 
cover the whole of the ground over with straw six 
inches deep, and throw (if at hand) some leaves of 
12* 



138 THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap. 

trees over the straw, and some sticks to keep the 
leaves from blowing away. But, the best covering 
of all, in this case is, boughs of cedar, or of^r, or 
laurel; though these boughs must be, for this pur- 
pose, cut up into small parts, so that they will lie 
close and compact and keep out the light. Some 
ever-green boughs, and some leaves of trees thrown 
over them, form, perhaps, the best covering in the 
world for plants of this description. But, observe ; 
you must let the frost come. The ground must be 
right hard when you put the covering on ; or else, 
the plants will rot. They must see the sun no more 
till spring. — When the frost breaks up, take off the 
covering ; hoe the ground as soon as dry, and pro- 
ceed to perfect the plants in the manner before de- 
scribed. — One of these plants will produce seed 
enough to last you for five years. — There need not 
be many of these plants. Lettuces are their rivals, 
and are a great deal better. — I have mentioned mat- 
ting' in this article, as a thing to tie with. This 
matting is nothing more than the threads of those 
large things, in which foreign goods sometimes 
come packed up. These things are in England 
called Mats, and the threads of which they are 
composed, are by gardeners, called matting. The 
gardeners use this for ties to Espalier trees ^ they 
tie on their grafts with it ; they tie up their flowers 
with it ; and, in short, it is the string of the gar- 
deners. The Mats, thousands of bales of which are 
imported into England from Russia, are used to co- 
ver the hot-beds with, and for various other pur- 
poses. — But, matting is to be had, and with very 
little trouble, without sending to Russia for it. Any 
one who has a spare tree may have plenty of mat- 
ting. When I came to Long Island, I cut down a 
chestnut, of about a foot diameter, and that furnished 



IV.] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 139 

me with a store of matting ties. The tree was cut 
in June ; the outer bark taken off ; and then the 
inner-hdirk came off in \ong flakes^ some broad and 
some narrow, the whole length of the clear trunk, 
which was about 15 feet. I just hung this up to 
dry; and that was mattings to be cut into any length, 
and ready to use for any tie, where much strength 
was not required. The only precautions are: keep 
the matting in the dry, and when you use it dip it 
in water first for a few minutes, and take it out of 
the water as you use it. If you have put more into 
the water than you want for that time, take it out 
and hang it up in the dry again ; and it will receive 
no injury. 

221. FENNEL. — Fennel is a perennial plant; 
propagated from seed, or from offsets; and sown, 
or planted, either in spring or fall. The plants 
should stand about a foot asunder. It is a tall plant 
with hairy leaves. Its leaves are used in salads, are 
chopped up fine to put in melted butter eaten with 
fish ; they are boiled with fish to give the fish a fla- 
vour, and, they are tied round mackerel, particu- 
larly, when these are broiled. The French, who 
excel in the cooking of fish, aUvays do this. The 
leaves, thus broiled, become crisp ; and, they are 
then of a very fine flavour. In winter, the seed, 
bruised, gives fish the same flavour as the leaves do 
in summer ; and, to my taste, butter, seasoned w^th 
Fennel, is better than any of the fish sauces, bought 
at the shops. — It is a very hardy plant. Two yards 
square will contain enough for any family ; and, 
once in the ground, it will stand there for an age, 
or ten ages, as far as I know. 

222. GARLICK. — Almost all nations except the 
English, the Americans, and the French, make great 
and constant use of Garlick ; and, even the French 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap. 



use it, frequently, to an extent that would drive us 
from the table. — It is propagated from seed, or from 
offsets : and is sown, or planted, either in spring or 
fall. For winter-use, the roots are taken up and 
kept in the dry, as onions are. 

223. GOURD. — I do not know any use that it is 
of. See Pumpkin. 

224. HOP. — To range the Hop amongst Veget- 
ables may appear odd ; but, it is a garden-plant in 
America, and does give you, if you like to have it, 
a very good dish for the table. It is wanted to pro- 
duce its fruit for the making of yeast, or beer, or 
both ; and, to get good hops, there should be some 
cultivation. Any bit of a root will grow and be- 
come a plant. The young plants should be planted 
in the fall, three or four together in a clump, or hill, 
and the hills should be from seven to ten feet apart. 
The first year of planting, put four rods, or little 
poles, to each hill, and let two vines go up each 
pole, treading the rest of the vines down to creep 
about the ground. In a month after the vines be- 
gin to mount the poles, cut off all the creeping 
vines ; and draw up a hill of earth against the poles 
all round, and cover all the crowns of the plants. 
In short, make a hill a foot high with a flattish top, 
and then fork up the ground between the hills and 
break it fine. When weeds begin to appear, hoe 
the ground clean ; and, at the end of another month 
draw some more earth up, and make the hill bigger 
and higher. — When the fall comes, cut off the vines 
that have gone up the pole a foot from the ground ; 
take down the poles ; dig down the hills, and, with 
B corn-hoe, open the ground all round the crowns 
of the plants ; and, before winter sets in, cut all 
close down to the very crowns, and then cover the 
srowns over with earth three or four inches thick. 



IV.] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 141 

Through this earth the hop-shoots will start in the 
spring. You will want but eight of them to go \ip 
your four poles ; and the rest, when three inches 
long, you may cut, and eat as asparagus ; cook 
them in the same manner, and you will find them a 
very delightful vegetable. — This year you put poles 
20 feet long to your hops. Proceed the same as 
before, only make the hills larger ; and this year 
you will have plenty of hops to gather for use. — 
The next, and every succeeding year, you may put 
poles 40 or 50 feet long ; but they must not be too 
large at bottom. Be sure to open the ground every 
fall, and to cut all off close down to the crown of 
the plants^ which, when pared off w4th a sharp 
knife, will look like a piece of cork, — In England, 
where there are more hops used than in all the rest 
of the world, it requires /oi^r or five years to bring 
a hop hill to perfection. Even then, a pole from 
15 to 20 feet long is generally long enough ; and 
the crop of thirty hills is, upon an average, not 
more than equal to that of one hill in the hop-plan- 
tations on the Susquehannah ; notwithstanding that, 
on the Susquehannah, they merely plough the 
ground in spring ; never open the crowns and pare 
them down, leave the loose creeping vines together 
with the weeds and grass to be eaten, in summer, by 
sheep, which also eat the leaves of the mounting 
vines as far as they, by putting their fore feet against 
the poles, can reach up ; and yet, in England, the 
Hop-lands are called hoip-gardens, and are culti- 
vated and kept in a garden state. — But, hops are to 
be preserved. They are fit to gather, when you 
see, upon opening the leaves of the hop, a good 
deal of yellow dust, and when the seeds, which you 
will find at the sockets of the leaves of the hop, 
begin to be plump. — Gather them nlnely, and let no 



143 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap. 



leaves or stalks be amongst them ; and lay them 
out on a cloth to dry in the sun, taking care that no 
rain fall upon them, and that they be not out in the 
dew. — When perfectly dry^ put them, very hardly , 
and closely pressed, into a new bag, made of thick j 
Russia linen, such as they make strong trowsers of. ' 
And, in this state, they will, if necessary, keep good , 
and fit for use (if kept in a dry place) for twenty , 
years, or, perhaps, three times twenty. I have used f 
hops, for brewing, at ten years old, and found them 
just as efficient as new hops of the same original 
quality. However, people say that the fresh hops 
have a more lively flavour ; and, as any stick will, - 
in America, carry enough to supply a family with 
hops for the making of yeast-cakes, it must be 
shocking laziness not to put a few by every year. 

225. HORSE-RADISH. Like every other? 

plant, this bears seed ; but it is best propagated by |t 
cutting bits of its roots into lengths of two inches, ^ 
and putting them, spring or fall, into the ground i 
about a foot deep with a setting stick. They will 
find their way up the first year ; and the second they k 
will be fine large roots, if the ground be trenched 
deeply and made pretty good. Haifa square perch | 
of ground, planted at a foot apart every way, will,^ 
if kept clear of weeds, produce enough for a family j 
that eats roast-beef every day of their lives. Youi 
must take care that the Horse-radish roots do not j 
spread, and that bits of them be not flung about the^ 
ground ; for, when once in, no tillage will getthemp 
out. They must be, like the Dock and Dandelionjj 
roots, absolutely burnt by fire, or by a sun that will 
reduce them to a state of a diy stick; or must be^ 
taken up and carried away from the spot. Though^ 
a very valuable and wholesome article of diet, it iS; 
a most pernicious weed \ 



IV.J THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



143 



226. HYSSOP is a sort of shrub, ihe flower- 
spikes of which are used, fresh or dried, for medi- 
cinal purposes. It is propagated from seed, or from 
offsets. A very little of it is enough for any garden. 

227. JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE.— This plant 
bears at the root, like a potatoe, which, to the great 
degradation of many of the human race, is every 
where well known. But, this Artichoke, which is 
also dug up and cooked like a potatoe, has, at any 
rate, the merit of giving no trouble either in the 
propagation or the cultivation. A handful of the 
bits of its fruit, or even of its roots, flung about a 
piece of ground of any sort, will keep bearing for 
ever, in spite of grass and of weeds ; the difficulty 
being, not to get it to grow, but to get the ground 
free from it, when once it has taken to growing. It 
is a very poor, insipid vegetable ; but, if you wish 
to have it, now and then, the best way is to keep it 
out of the garden ; and to dig up the corner of some 
iield^ and throw some seed or some roots into it. 

228. LAVENDER.— A beautiful little well known 
shrub of uses equally well known. Hundreds of 
acres are cultivated in England for the flowers to 
be used in distillation. It may be propagated from 
seed ; but is easiest propagated from slips, taken off 
in the spring, and planted in good moist ground in 
the shade. When planted out it should be in rows 
three feet apart and tvvo feet apart in the rows. If 
the floAvers be to be preserved, the flower-stalks 
should be cut ofl* before the blossoms begin to fade 
at all. 

229. LEEK. — There are two sorts; the narroiv- 
leaved, and the flag -leek, the latter of which is by 
much the best — Some people like leeks better than 
onions; and they are better in soup. — Sow in the 
fall, or, as early in the spring as you can. — Abou* 



144 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap 



four yards square is enough. Put the rows eight 
inches asunder, and thin the plants to three inches 
apart in the row. Hoe deeply and frequently be- 
tween the plants till the middle of July, and then 
take the plants up, cut their roots off to an inch 
long, and cut off the leaves also a good way down. 
Make trenches, like those for Celery (which see,) 
only not more than half as deep, and half as wide 
apart. Manure the trenches with rotten dung, or 
other rich manure. Put in the plants as you do the 
Celery plants, and plant about five inches asunder. 
As the Leeks grow, earth them up by degrees like 
Celery ; and, at last, you will have Leeks 18 inches 
long under ground, and as thick as your wrist. 
One of these is worth a dozen of poor little hard 
things. If you have a row across one of the Plats 
it will be plenty, perhaps. Such row will contain 
about a hundred and sixty. One third may be used, 
perhaps, before the winter sets in : another third 
taken up and put by for winter, in precisely the 
same way that Celery is ; the other third, covered 
in the same way that Celery is, will be ready for 
spring use. — See Celery.— Three Leeks planted out 
for seed, will ripen their seed in August, and will 
give you seed enough for the next year, and some 
to give to five or six neighbours. 

230. LETTUCE.— This great article of the gar- 
den is milky, refreshing, and pleasanter to a majority 
of tastes than any other plant, the Asparagus hardly 
excepted. So necessary is it as the principal ingre- 
dient of a good salad, that it is, both in France and 
England, called salad" by great numbers of peo- 
ple. It is good in stews ; good boiled with green-' 
peas ; and, even a dish boiled as cabbage is, it 
is an excellent vegetable. Yet, I never saw a really 
fine Lettuce in America. The obstacles are, the^ 



I 

j lYj THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 145 

complete impossibility of preserving plants of the 
fine sorts in the natural ground during the winter ; 
and the great heat, which will not suffer those sorts 
to have, if they be sowed in the natural ground in 
the spring. — The hardy sorts are the green cab- 
bage-lettuce (or hardy green,) and the brown-cab- 
bage. These due fiat plants. Their outside leaves 
spread forth upon the ground, and they curl into a 
sort of loaf in the centre. The plants of these may 
be preserved through the winter in the natural 
ground, in the manner directed for Endive plants, 
(which see under Endive) and may be sowed at the 
same time for that purpose. But these are very 
poor things. They have, though bleached at the 
heart, a slimy feel in the mouth; and are not crisp 
and refreshing. There are, I believe, twenty sorts, 
two of which only it will be enough to mention, 
green-coss and white-coss, the former of which is of 
a darker green than the latter, is rather hardier, and 
not quite so good. These, when true to their kind 
and in a proper situation, rise up, and fold in their 
leaves to a solid loaf, like a sugar-loaf cabbage, and, 
in rich land, with good management, they will be- 
come nearly as large. When you cut one of these 
from the stem, and pull off its outside leaves, you 
have a large lump of white enough for a salad for 
ten people, unless they be French, and, then you 
must have a lettuce to every person. Every body 
knows how to sow lettuce-seed along a drill, in the 
spring, to let the plants stand as thick as grass, and 
to cut it along with a knife, and gather it up by 
handfuls. But, this is not lettuce. It is herbage, 
and really fit only for pigs and cows. It is a raw, 
green. Dandelion, and is not quite so good. — The 
plants of these fine sorts may, indeed, be kept 
through the winter in the same manner, and with 
13 



146 THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap 



the same care, as Cauliflower plants (which see in 
Paragraph 209 ;) but, if this be not done, you must 
raise them in the spring in precisely the same way 
as the very earliest cabbage-plants, for which see 
Paragraph from 77 to 94. — Put the plants out into 
the natural ground, about a fortnight before the ge- 
neral Corn-planting time. Do not put them in a 
place /i//Z to the sun ; but in the east borders, or in 
the west border. Make the ground r/c/i, right 
strongs break it well, and, in transplanting, keep 
as much earth as you can about the roots, and give 
a little w^ater ; and transplant in the evening. — 
These plants will loave about the time of the early 
cabbages, and some of them will not go off to seed 
^or six weeks after they are loaved. So that, about 
two square feet of a hot-bed will give you a great 
quantity of real lettuces. — Let one plant (a very 
'fine one) stand iov seed; and it will give you plenty 
of seed for a year or two. — Whenever you trans- 
iplant Lettuces, give them a little water, and, if ii 
be a small bed, shade them a little. If you sow in 
the natural ground in the spring, be sure to trans- 
plant into the shady borders.— And be sure always 
to make the ground rich for these fine Lettuces. 

23L MANGEL-WURZEL.— This may be called 
Cattle-heet. Some persons plant it in gardens. It 
is a coarse Beet, and is cultivated and preserved as 
the Beet is. 

232. MARJORAM.— One sort is annual and 
one perennial. The former is called summer and 
the latter winter. The first sown as «arly as pos- 
sible in the spring ; and, the latter pr>)pagated by 
offsets ; that is, by parting the roots. The plants 
may stand pretty close. As the winter sort cannot 
be got at in winter, some of both oughr to be pre- 
served by drying. Cut ii just before it zqws out 



IV.] 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



147 



into bloom, hang it up in little bunches to dry, first, 
for a day, in the sun ; then in the shade ; and, when 
quite dry, put it in paper bags, tied up, and the bags 
hung up in a dry place. 

233. MARIGOLD.— An ANNUAL plant. Sow the 
seed, spring or fall ; when the bloom is at full, 
gather the flowers ; pull the leaves of the flower out 
of their sockets ; lay them on paper to dry, in the 
shade. When dry put them into paper bags. They 
are excellent in broths and soups and stews. Two 
square yards planted with Marigolds will be suffi- 
cient. It is the single Marigold that ought to be 
cultivated for culinary purposes. The double one 
is an ornamental flower, and a very mean one 
indeed. 

234. MELON.— There are, all the world knows, 
two distinct tribes : the Musk, and the Water, Of 
the former the sorts are endless, and, indeed, of the 
latter also. Some of both tribes are globular and 
others oblong ; and, in both tribes there are differ- 
ent colours, as well with regard to flesh as to rind. — 
In this fine country, where they all come to perfec- 
tion in the natural ground, no distinction is made 
as to earliness, or lateness in sorts ; and, in other 
respects, some like one sort best and some another. 
Amongst the Musk melons, the Citron is, according 
to my taste, the finest by far ; and the finest Water 
melons that I have ever tasted were raised from 
seed that came out of melons grown in Georgia. — 
As to the manner of propagating, cultivating, and 
sowang the seed of melons, see Cucumber, and only 
observe, that all that is there said applies to melons 
as well as to cucumbers. To have melons a month 
earlier than the natural ground sowings will pro- 
duce them is an object of much greater importance 
than to have cucumbers so much earlier; and, to 



148 THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap. 

accomplish that object, you hare only to use the 
same means, in every respect, that I have described 
for the getting of early cucumbers. The soil should 
be rich for melons ; but it ought not to be freshly 
dunged : for that is apt to rot the plants, especially 
in a wet year. They like a light and rather sandy 
.soiL and, any where near the sea, wood ashes, or 
sopers' ashes, is, probably, the best manuiT, and 
especially in dry-bottomed land ; for ashes attract 
and retain the moisture of the atmosphere. It is a 
great mistake to suppose, that ashes are of a huTU' 
ing quality. They alwa3"s produce the most and 
best effect in dry hoitoined land. — Melons should be 
cultivated w^^-ll You should leave but one plant in 
a hill; and should till the ground between the 
plants, while they are growing, until it be covered 
by the vines. If the plants stand too close, the 
vines will be weak, and fruit small, thick-rinded, 
and poor as to flavour. 

235. MINT. — There are two sorts ; one is of a 
darker green than the other : the former is called 
pepper-mint^ and is generally used for distilling to 
make mint water : the latter, which is called spear- 
mint^ is used for the table, in many ways. The 
French snip a little into their salads ; we boil a 
bunch amongst green peas, to which it gives a plea 
sant flavour ; chopped up small, and put, along with 
sugar, into vinegar, we use it as sauce for roasted 
lamb ; and a very pleasant sauce it is. — Mint may 
be propagated from seed : but. a few bits of its 
roots will spread into a bed in a year. — To have it 
in winter, preserve it preciselv like Marjoram (which 
see,) and, instead of chopving it for sauce, crunible 
it between your finger^. 

23G. MUSTARD —There is a white S5fd<:d ?ort 
and a brown seeded. The white mustard is Uiea 



rv.] 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



149 



salads along with the Cress, or Pepper-Grass, and 
is sown and cultivated in the same way. (See 
Cress.) The black is that which table-mustard is 
made of. — It is sown in rows, two feet apart, early 
in the spring. The plants ought to be thinned to 
four or fire inches apart. Good tillage between the 
rows. The seed will be ripe in July, and then the 
! stalks should be cut off, and, when quite dry, the 
seed threshed out, and put by for use. — Why should 
any man that has a garden buy mustard ? Why 
should he want the English to send him out, in a 
bottle, and sell him for a quarter of a dollar, less 
and worse mustard than he can raise in his garden 
for a penny ? The English mustard is, in general, a 
thing fabricated, and is as false as the glazed and 
pasted goods, sent out by the fraudulent fabricators 
of Manchester. It is a composition of baked bones 
reduced to powder, some wheat flour, some colour- 
ing, and a drug of some sort that gives the pun 
gent taste. Whoever uses that mustard will 
find a burning in his inside long after he has swal- 
lowed the mustard. Why should any man, who 
has a garden, buy this poisonous stuff? The mus- 
tard-seed ground in a little mustard mill is what 
he ought to use. He will have bran and all : and 
his mustard will not look yellow like the English 
composition ; but, we do not object to Rye-bread 
on account of its colour ! Ten pounds of seed will 
grow upon a perch of ground ; and ten pounds of ^ 
mustard is more than any man can want in a year. 
The plants do not occupy the ground more than 
fourteen weeks, and may be followed by another 
crop of any plant, and even of mustard if you like. 
This, therefore, is a very useful plant, and ought to 
be cultivated by every farmer, and every man whe 
has a gan^.en. 

13* 



150 



THE AMERICAN GARPENER. 



[Chap. 



237. NASTURTIUM.— An annual plant, with 
a half-red half-yellow flower, which has an offen- 
sive smell ; but, it bears a seed enveloped in a fleshy 
pod, and that pod, taken before the seed becomes 
ripe, is used as a thing to pickle.— The seeds should 
be sown in the fall, or very early in the spring. 
The plants should have pretty long bushy sticks 
put to them ; and four or Ave of them will bear a 
gre?.t quantity of pods. — They will grow in almost 
any ground ; but, the better the ground the fewer 
of them are necessary. 

238. ONION.— This is one of the main vegeta- 
bles. Its uses are many, and they are all well 
known. The modes of cultivation for crop are 
various. Three I shall mention, and by either a 
good crop may be raised. — Sow in the fall (See Pa- 
ragraph 159,) or early in the Spring. Let the 
ground be rich, but not from fresh dung. i^Iake 
the ground xery fine; make the rovvs a foot apart, 
and scatter the seed thinly along a drill two inches 
deep. Then till in the drills ; and then press the 
earth down upon the seed by treading the ground 
all over. Then give the ground a very slight 
smoothing over with a rake. — When the plants get 
to be three inches high, thin them to four inches, 
or to eight inches if you wish to have very large 
onions. — Keep the ground clear of weeds hy hoeing; 
but, do not hoe deep, nor raise earth about the 
plants ; for these make them run to neck and not to 
hulk. — When the tips of the leaves begin to be 
brown, bend down the necks, so that the leaves lie 
flat with the ground. When the leaves are nearly 
dead, pull up the onions, and lay them to dry, in 
order to be put away for winter use.- — Some per- 
sons, instead of sowing the onions all along the 
drill d^'op four or five seeds at every six or seveo 



IV.] 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



151 



inches distance ; and leave the onions to grow thus, 
in clumps ; and this is not a bad way ; for, they 
will squeeze each other out. They will not be large; 
but, they will be ripe earlier^ and will not run to 
neck. — The third mode of cultivation is as follows : 
sow the onions any time between April and the 
middle of June, in drills six inches apart, and put 
the seed very thick along the drills. Let all the 
plants stand, and they will get to be about as big 
round as the top of your little finger. Then the 
leaves will get yellow, and, when that is the case, 
pull up the onions and lay them on a board, till the 
sun have withered up the leaves. Then take these 
diminutive onions, put them in a bag, and hang them 
up in a dry place till spring. As soon as the frost 
is gone, and the ground dry, plant out these onions 
in good and fine ground, in rows a foot apart. 
Make, not drills^ but little marks along the ground; 
and put the onions at six or eight inches apart. Do 
not cover them with the earth ; but just press them 
down upon the mark with your thumb and fore- 
finger. The ground ought to be trodden and slight- 
ly raked again before you make the marks ; for no 
earth should rise up, about the plants. — Proceed 
after this as with sown onions; only observe, that, 
if any should be running up to seedy you must 
twist down the neck as soon as you perceive it. 
But, observe this : the shorter the time that these 
onions have been in the ground the year before, the 
less likely will they he to run to seed, — Preserving 
onions is an easy matter. Frost never hurts them, 
unless -you move them during the time that they are 
frozen. Any dry, airy place, will, therefore, do. 
They should not- be kept in a warm place ; for they 
willAea^ and grow. The neatesi, way is to tie them 
up in ropes ; that is to say, to tie them round sticks, 



152 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



[Chap. 



or straight straw, v/ith matting (See Endive*) — 
For seed, pick out the finest onions^ and plant them 
out in rich land, in the spring —To grow this seed 
upon a large scale, plough the land into four feet 
ridges, lay plenty of dung along the furrows, plough 
the ground back over the dung, flatten the top of 
the ridge a little, and put along, on the top of the 
ridge two rows of onions, the rows seven inches 
apart, and the onions seven inches apart in the 
rows. When the weeds come, hoe the tojps of the 
ridges with a small Aoe, and plough first from and 
then to the ridges, two or three times, at the distance 
of two or three weeks, as in the case of Ruta Baga, 
cultivated in the field, — When the seed is ripe, cut 
off" the heads and collect them in such a way as not 
to scatter the seed. Lay them on cloths, in the 
sun, till dry as dust ; and then thresh out the seed, 
winnow it, and put it away. The seed will be dead 
ripe in August, and transplanted Ruta Baga, or 
Early York Cabbages, or even Kidney dwarf beans, 
or, perhaps. Buckwheat, may follow upon the same 
ground, the same year. — In a garden there always 
ought to be a crop to succeed seed-onions the same 
summer. 

239. PARSLEY.— Known to every human be- 
ing to bear its seed the second year, and, after that, 
to die away. It may be sown at any season when 
the frost is out of the ground. The best way is to 
sow it in spring, and in very clean ground ; because 
the seed lies long in the ground, and, if the ground 
be foul, the weeds choak the plants at their coming 
up. — A bed of six feet long and four wide, the seed 
sown in drills at eight inches apart, is enough for 
any family in the world. — But, every body likes 
parsley, and where the winter is so long and so 
sharp as it is in this country, the main thing is to 



JV.] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 153 



be able to keep parsley through the winter. It can 
not be preserved dry, with success, like Mint, Mar- 
\ joram, and the rest of the pot-herbs. It is possible 
to preserve it green, because I have done it ; but, 
it loses its smell and flavour. Therefore, to have 
I Parsley in winter, you must keep it alwe. If you 
j have a Green-house (or you may do it even in any 
jj of the window seats of a house) half a dozen flower- 
j; pots, planted with stout plants in September, and 
taken into the house in November, will be sufficient, 
j As soon as winter breaks up, put them out in the 
I natural ground ; and thus you have plenty of Pars- 
ley all the year round. However, Parsley may be 
preserved in the natural ground. You have only 
to put straw, or leaves of trees, or long litter, six 
inches thick on the bed, and to lay on something to 
prevent the covering from being blown off. (See 
Endive,) This will preserve its leaves from being 
i destroyed ; and, when you go to get it, you must 
lift up the covering, of a part of the bed, and put it 
down again. 

240. PARSNIP. — As to season of sowing, sort 
of land, preparation of ground, distances, and cul- 
tivation and tillage, precisely the same as the Car- 
rot, which see. Paragraph 208. But, as to preser- 
vation during winter, and for spring use, the Pars- 
nip stands all frost without injury, and even with 
benefit. So that, all you want is to put up for win- 
ter as many as you want during the hard frost ; and 
these you may put up in the same manner as directed 
for Carrots and Beets. — The greens of Parsnips are 
as good^for cow feed as those of Carrots; but, if 
the Parsnips be to stand out in the ground all the 
winter, the greens should not be cut off in the 
fall. 

241. PEA.- — This is one of those vegetables 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap. 



which all men most like. Its culture is universal, 
where people have the means of growing it. The ■ 
sorts of peas are very numerous ; and I will men- ' 
tion a few of them presently. — The soil should be 
good, and fresh dung- is good m.anure for them. 
Ashes, and compost, very good ; but peas, like In- 
dian Corn, will bear to be actually sown upon dung. 
Never were finer peas grown than there are grown 
in the United States ; and, as we shall presently ' 
see, ihey 7nay be had, in the open ground, in Long 
Island, from first of June till the sharp frosts set 
in. — The sorts are numerous, one class is of a small- 
size and the other large. The latter grow taller, 
and are longer in coming to perfection, than the 
former. The earliest of all is the little white pea. ' 
called, in Long Island, the May-Pea, and, in Eng- 
land, the early frame-pea. Then come the early 
Charleton, the Hotspur, the Blue Pea, the Dwarf 
and Tall Marrowfats; and several others, espe- i 
cially the Knight Pea, the seed of which is rough, i 
uneven shaped and shrivelled, and the plant of i 
which grows very tall. — All the sorts may be grown ( 
in America, without sticks, and even better than j 1 
with. I have this year (1819) the finest peas I ever I I 
saw, and the crop the most abundant. And this is : 
the manner, in which I have sown and cultivated l 
them. I ploughed the ground into ridges, the tops ] 
of which (for the dwarf sorts) were four feet apart ] 
I then put a good parcel of yard-dung into the fur- i 
rows ; and ploughed the earth back upon the dung. i 
I then levelled the top of the ridge a little, and drew 
two drills along upon it at six inches distant from 
each other. In these I sowed the peas. When the 
peas were about three inches high, I hoed the 
ground deep and well between the rows and on each > 
outside of them. I then ploughed the ground from " 



IV.] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 155 



them, and to them again, in the same way as in the 
fi case of Swedish Turnips. In a week or two after- 
I'i wards they had another ploughing; and soon after 
this they fell, and lay down the sides of the ridges. 
This was the way in which I managed all the sorts, 
I only in the case of the Knight Pea I put the ridges 
at six feet asunder. — This was, of every sort, the 
|| very finest crop of peas I ever saw in my life. 
]| When not sticked, and sown upon level ground, 
I peas fall about irregularly, and, in case of much 
J wet, the under pods rot ; but, from the ridges they 
i fall regularly, and the wet does not lodge about 
them. You walk up the furrows to gather the peas ; 
and nothing can be more beautiful, or more conve- 
nient. The culture in the garden may be the same, 
except that the work which is done with the plough 
in the field, must, in the garden, be done with the 
spade, — As to seasons, the early pea may be sown 
in the fall. See Paragraph 159. But, in this case, 
care must be taken to guard against mice. Sow 
about four inches deep, and tread the ground well 
down. When the frost sets in, all is safe till winter 
breaks up. These peas will be earlier by ten or 
fifteen days than any that you can sow in the 
spring. — If you sow in the spring, do it as soon as 
the ground is dry enough to go upon. Sow the 
May Pea, some Charletons, some Hotspurs, some 
Blue Peas, 'some Marrowfats, and some Knight Pea, 
all at the same time, and they will come one after 
another, so as to give you green peas till nearly 
August. In June (about the middle) sow some 
early pea again and also some Marrowfats and 
Knight Pea ; and these will give you peas till Sep- 
tember. Sow some of each sort middle of August, 
and they will give you green peas till the hardish 
frosts come. — But, these two last sowings (June 



156 THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap. 

and August) ought to be under the South fence, so 
as to get as much coolness as possible. 

242. PENNYROYAL.— A medicinal herb. It is 
perennial. A little patch, a foot square, is enough. 

243. PEPPER. See Capsicum. 

244. PEPPER GRASS. See Cress. 

245. POTATOE.— Every body knows how to 
cultivate this plant ; and, as to its preservation 
during winter, if you can ascertain the degree of 
warmth necessary to keep a haby from perishing, 
you know precisely the precautions required to pre- 
serve a potatoe. — As to sorts, they are as numerous 
as the stones of a pavement in a large city ; but, 
there is one sort earlier than all others. It is a 
small, round, white potatoe, that has no blossom, 
and the leaf of which is of a pale green, very thin, 
very smooth, and nearly of the shape and size of 
the inside of a lemon cut asunder longways. This 
potatoe, if planted with other sorts in the spring, 
will be ripe six weeks sooner than any other sort 
I have had two crops of this potatoe ripen on the 
same ground in the same year, in England, the se- 
cond crop from potatoes of the first. Two crops 
could be raised in America with the greatest facili- 
ty. — But, if you once get this sort, and wish to 
keep it, you must take care that no other sort grow 
with it, or near it ; for, potatoes of this kind mix [, 
the breed more readily than any thing else, though ' 
they have no bloom I If some plants of this blos- 
somless kind grow with or near the other kinds, r 
they will produce plants with a rough leaf, some of i 
them will even blow, and they will lose their quali- [ 
ty of earliness. This is quite enough to prove the 3 
fallacy of the doctrine of a communication of the I 
farina of the flowers of plants. I 

246. POTATOE (Sweet.)— This plant is culti- t 



i IV.] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 157 

vated in much the same way as the last. Heat is 
what it chiefly wants ; and great care indeed must 
' be taken to preserve it in winter. 

247. PUMPKIN.— See Cucumber. The culti- 
vation is the same, and every body knows the dif- 
ferent qualities of the different sorts, and how to 
preserve and use them all. 
, 248. PURSLANE.— A mischievous weed that 
; Frenchmen and pigs eat when they can get nothing 

else. Both use it in salad, that is to say, raw. 
I 249. RADISH. — A great variety of sorts. Sown 
I thin in little drills six inches asunder. Sown as 
early as possible in the spring, and a little bed 
every three weeks all summer long. The early 
scarlet is the best. Radishes may be raised early 
in a hot-bed precisely as cabbage-plants are. 

250. RAMPION.— This is the smallest seed of 
which we have any knowledge. A thimble full, 
properly distributed, would sow an acre of land. 
It is sown in the spring, in very fine earth. Its 
roots are used in soups and salads. Its leaves are 
also used in salads. A yard square is enough for 
any garden. 

251. RAPE. — This is a field-plant for sheep ; 
but it is very good to sow like White Mustard, to 
use as salad, and it is sown and raised in the same 
way. 

252. RHUBARB.— This is one of the capital 
articles of the garden, though I have neven seen it 
in America. The Dock is the wild Rhubarb, and 
if you look at, and taste, the root, you will see the 
proof of h. The Rhubarb plant has leaves as broad 
and long as those of the hurrdock. Its comes forth, 
like the dock, very early in the spring. When its 
leaves are pretty large, you cut them off close to 
the stem, and, if the plant be fine, the stalk of the 

14 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [C^-ap* 

leaf will be from eight inches to a foot long. You 
peel the outside skin from these stalks, and then 
cut the stalks up into bits about as big as the first 
joint of a lady's third finger. You put these into 
puddings, pies, tarts, just as you would green goose- 
berries and green currants, and some people think 
they are better than either : at any rate, they are 
full six weeks earlier, — The plant, like the dock, is 
hardy, is raised from seed, from the roots, viiW grow 
in any ground, though best in rich ground ; and the 
same plants will last for an age. It is a very valu- 
able plant, and no garden ought to be without it. I 
should think, that a hundred wagon-loads of the 
stalks are yearly sold in London. A bunch which 
you can clasp with your two hands sells for a shil- 
ling or two in the very early part of the season s 
and that is nearly half a dollar. This circmxistance 
sufficiently speaks its praise. 

253. ROSEMARY is a beautiful little shrub. 
One of them may be enough in a garden. It is pro- 
pagated from slips, taken off in the spring and 
planted in a cool place. 

254. RUE.— Still more beautiful. Propagated 
in the same manner. One plant of the kind is 
enough. 

255. RUTABAGA.— (See Turnip.) 

256. SAGE is raised from seed, or from slips. 
To have it at hand for winter it is necessary to dry 
it ; and it ought to be cut, for this purpose, hefore 
it comes out into bloom., as, indeed, is the case with 
all other herbs. 

257. SALSAFY, called, by some, oyster plant, 
is good in soups, or to eat like the parsnip. It is 
cultivated like the parsnip, and, like it^ stands out 
the whole of an American winter. 

258. SAMPHIRE is propagated from seed, or 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



159 



from offsets. It is perennial, and is sometimes used 
as a pickle, or in saJads. 

259. SAVORY. — Two sorts, summer and win- 
ter. The former is annual, and the latter perennial. 

260. SAYOY.— See Cabbage, Paragraph 201. 

261. SCORZENERA.— This is only another 
kind of Salsafy. It is cultivated and used in the 
same manner as Salsafy is. 

262. SHALOT.— A little sort of Onion, which 
is taken up in the fall and kept for winter use. 
Each plant multiplies itself in the summer by add- 
ing offsets all round it. One of them is a plant to 
put out in the spring to produce other offsets for 
use and for planting out again. They should be 
planted in rows six inches apart, and four inches 
apart in the rows. The ground should not be wet 
at bottom, and should be kept very clean during the 
summer. 

263. SKIRRET is cultivated for its root, which 
is used in soups. It may be raised from seed, or 
from offsets. It is perennial, and a very small 
patch may suffice. 

264. SORREL.— This is no other than the wild 
sorrel cultivated. It is propagated from seed, or from 
offsets. It is perennial. The Fjrench make large 
messes of it ; but a foot square may suffice for an 
American garden. 

265. SPINACH.— Every one knows how good 
and useful a plant this is. It is certainly preferable 
to any of the cabbage kind in point of wholesome- 
riess, and it is of very easy cultivation. There is, 
in fact, but one sort, that I know any thing of, 
though the seed is sometimes more prickly than at 
other times. To have spinach very early in the 
spring, sow (Long Island) on or about the first week 
of September, in drills a foot apart, and, when the 



160 THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



plants are well up, thin them to six inches. They 
will be fine and strong by the time that the winter 
sets in ; and, as soon as that time comes, cover 
them over well with straw, and keep the straw on 
till the breaking up of the frost. — Sow more as 
soon as the frost is out of the ground ; and this will 
be in perfection in June. — You may sow again in 
May ; but the plants will go off to seed before they 
attain to much size. — If you save seed, save it from 
plants that have stood the winter. 

266. SQUASH is, in all its varieties, cultivated 
like the Cucumber, which see. 

267. TANSY, a perennial culinary and medici- 
nal herb, propagated from seed, or offsets. One 
root in a garden is enough. 

268. TARRAGON is a very hot, peppery herb. 
It is used in soup and salads. It is perennial, and 
may be propagated from seed, or from offsets, or 
slips, put out in spring. Its young and tender tops 
only are used. It is eaten with beef-steaks in com- 
pany with minced shalots. A man may live very 
well without it ; but, an Englishman once told me, 
that he and six others once eat some beef-steaks 
with Shalots and Tarragon, and that they voted 
unanimously, that beef-steaks never were so 
eaten !" It must be dried, like mint, for winter use. 

269. THYME.— There are two distinct sorts. 
Both are perennial, and both may be propagated 
either from seed, or from offsets. 

270. TOMATUM.— This plant comes from the 
countries bordering on the Mediterranean. In 
England it requires to be raised in artificial heat, 
and to be planted out against warm walls. Here it 
would require neither. It climbs up very high, 
and would require bushy sticks. It bears a sort of 
apple about as big as a black walnut with its green 



IV.] 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



16! 



husk on. This fruit is used to thicken stews and 
soups, and great quantities are sold in London. It 
is raised from seed only, being an annual; and the 
seed should be sowja at a great distance, seeing that 
the plants occupy a good deal of room. 

271. TURNIP.— It is useless to attempt to raise 
them by sowing in the spring : they are never good 
i till the fall. — The sorts of Turnips are numerous, 
but, for a garden^ it is quite sufficient to notice 
three ; the early white^ the flat yellow^ and the 
Swedish, or Rutabaga, which last is a very differ- 
ent plant indeed from the other two. — The two for- 
mer sorts should be sown about the end of July, in 
rows (in a garden) two feet apart, and thinned out 
to a foot distance in the rows. Good and deep hoe- 
ing and one digging should take place during their 
growth ; for, a large turnip of the same age is bet- 
ter, weight for weight, than a small one, just as the 
largest apples, or peaches, growing upon the same 
tree, are better than the small ones growing on it 
the same year. — The Swedish turnip, so generally 
preferred for table use here, and so seldom used for 
the table in England, ought to be sown early in 
June, in rows at a foot apart and thinned to three 
inches in the rows. About the middle of July they 
ought to be transplanted upon ridges three fee' 
part (in a garden,) and during their growth, ough* 
•o be kept clean, and to be dug between twice at 
least, as deep as a good spade can be made to go. — • 
As to the preserving of tu'^nips during the winter, 
follow precisely the direciions given for the pre- 
serving -of Beets. See Beet, — But the Swedish 
I Turnip is of further use as producing most excel- 
I lent greens in the spring, and at a very early sea- 
son. To draw this benefit from them, the best way 
is, te leave a row o'' two in the ground, and, when 
14* 



162 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap. 



the winter is about to set in, cover them all over 
with straw or cedar boughs. Take these off when 
the winter breaks up, and you will have very early 
and most excellent greens ; and, when you have 
done with the greens, the Turnips are very good 
to eat. 

272. WORMWOOD is an herb purely medicinal. 
It may be propagated from seed, from slips, or from 
offsets. It ought not to occupy a space of more 
than a foot square. It must be dried and put by in 
bags for winter use. 



CHAPTER V. 
FRUITS. 

Propagation, Planting, Cultivation. 

PROPAGATION. 

273. All the Fruits to be treated of here, except 
the Strawberry, are the produce of trees or of 
woody plants. All these may be propagated from 
seed, and some are so propagated. But others are 
usually propagated by cuttings, slips, layers, or 
suckers : or by budding or grafting upon stocks. 

274. The methods of propagation, best suited to 
each kind, will be mentioned under the 7iaine of the 
kinds respectively ; and, therefore, in this place I 
am to describe the several methods generally, and 
the management suited to each. 

275. When the propagation is from seed, the 
sowing should be in good ground, finely broken, 
and the seed should by no means be sown too thick. 
How to save and preserve the seed will be spoken 
of under the names of the several trees. But, the 



v.] 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



163 



seed being good^ it should be well sown, well co- 
vered, and carefully preserved from mice and other 
vermin. 

276. CUTTINGS are short pieces, cut in the 
spring, from shoots of the last year, and it is, in 
most cases, best, if they have a joint or two of the 
former yearns wood, at the bottom of them. The 
cutting- should have altogether, about six joints, or 
buds ; and three of these should be under ground 
when planted. The cuts should be performed with 
a sharp knife, so that there may be nothing ragged 
or bruised about either wood or bark. The time 
for taking off cuttings is that of the breaking up of 
the frost. They should be planted in a shady place, 
and watered with rain water, in dry weather, until 
they have got shoots several inches long. When 
they have such shoots they have roots, and when 
they have these, no more watering is necessary. 
Besides these occasional waterings, the ground 
should, especially in hot countries, be covered with 
leaves of trees, or muck, or something that will keep 
the ground cool during the hot and dry weather. 

277. SLIPS differ from cuttings in this, that the 
former are not cut, but pulled, from the tree. You 
take a shoot of the last year, and pull it down- 
wards, and thus slip it off. You trim the ragged 
back off; then shorten the shoot so that it have six 
joints left ; and then plant it and manage it in the 
same manner as directed for cuttings. The season 
for the work is also the same. 

278. LAYERS.— You take a limb, or branch of 
a tree, in the fall, or early in Spring, and pull it 
down in such a way as to cause its top, or small 
shoots and twigs to lie upon the ground. Then 
fasten the limb down by a peg or two, so that its 
own force will not raise it up. Then prune off all 



164 THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap. 



the small branches and shoots that stick upright ; 
and, having a parcel of shoots lying horizontally, 
lay earth upon the whole, all along upon the limb 
from the point where it begins to touch the ground, 
and also upon all the bottoms of all the shoots. 
Then cut the shoots off at the points, leaving only 
two or three joints or buds beyond the earth. The 
earth, laid on should be good^ and the ground should 
be fresh-digged and made very fine and smooth be- 
fore the branches be laid upon it. The earth, laid 
on, should be from six inches to a foot thick. If 
the limb, or mother branch, be very stubborn, a lit- 
tle cut on the lower side of it will make it the more 
ea-sy to be held down. The ground should be kept 
clean from weeds, and as cool as possible in hot 
weather. Perhaps rocks or stones (not large) are 
the best and coolest covering. These layers will 
be ready to take up and plant out as trees after they 
have been laid a year, 

279. SUCKERS are, in general, but poor things, 
whether in the forest, or in the fruit garden. They 
are shoots that come up from the roots, at a dis- 
tance from the stem of the tree, or, at least, they 
do not come out of that stem. They run to wood 
and to suckers more than trees do that are raised 
in any other way. Fruit trees raised from suckers 
do not bear so abundantly, and such good fruit, as 
trees raised from cuttings, slips or layers. A suck- 
er is, in fact, a little tree with more or less of root 
to it, and is, of course, to be treated as a tree, 

280. BUDDING.— To have fruit trees by this 
method, or by that of grafting, you must first have 
stocks ; that is to say, a young tree to bud or graft 
upon. What are the sorts of stocks proper fox 
the sorts of fruit-trees respectively will be men- 
tioned under the names of the latter. The stool 



v.] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 165 

is a youvg tree of some sort or other, and the hud 
is put into the bark on the side of this young tree 
during the summer ; and not before the bud be full 
and plump. The work may generally be done all 
, through the months of July and August, and, per- 
■ haps, later. 

281. GRAFTING is the joining of a cutting of 
one to another tree in such a way as that the tree, 
on which the cutting is placed, sends up its sap 
into the cutting, and makes it grow and become a 
,1 tree. Now, as to the way, in which this, and the 
I way in which budding, is done, they cannot upon 
any principle consistent with common sense, be- 
come matter of written description. Each is a 
mechanical operation, embracing numerous move- 
ments of the arms, hands, and fingers, and is no 
more to be taught by written directions than the 
making of a chest of drawers is. To read a full 
' and minute account of the acts of budding and 
grafting would require ten times the space of time 
that it requires to go to a neighbour's and learn, 
from a sight of the operation, that which, after all, 
no written directions would ever teach. To bud 
and graft, in all the various modes, form a much 
nicer and more complicated operation than that of 
I making a shoe ; and I defy any human being to 
ji describe adequately all the several acts in the 
making of a shoe, in less than two volumes, each 
, larger than this. The season for taking off the cut- 
l( tings for grafts, is any time between Christmas and 
i| March. Any time after the sap is completely in a 
I . quiescent state and before it be again in motion, 
ji When cut oft they will keep several months. I 
cut some here in January last (1819.) They 
j reached England in March; and, 1 hear that they 
t were growing well in June. A great deal has been 



166 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap 



said about the season for grafting, and Mr. Mar- 
shall tells the English, that it must not be done 
till the sap ki the stock is just ready to flow 
freely. He has never seen an American Negro-man 
sitting by a hot six-plate stove, grafting apple-trees 
in the month of Januarj', and then putting them 
away in his cave, to be brought out and planted in 
April ! I have seen this ; and my opinion is, that 
the work may be done at any time between Oc- 
tober and May : nay, I am not sure, that it may 
not be done all the summer long. The cuttings 
too, may be taken off, and put on directly ; and, 
the sooner the better ; but, in the ^vinter months, 
they will keep good off the tree for several 
months, 

282. STOCKS must be of different ages and 
sizes in different cases ; and even the propagation 
of the stocks themselves is not to be over-looked. 
Stocks are formed out of suckers, or raised from 
the seed ; and the latter is by far the best ; for 
suckers produce suckers, and do not grow to a 
handsome stem, or trunk. Crabs are generally 
the stocks for Apple-grafts, and Plumbs for Pears, 
Peaches, Nectarines, and Apricots. However, we 
shall speak of the sorts of Stocks, suitable to each 
sort of fruit-tree by and by : at present we have to 
speak of the raising of Stocks. If the stocks be 
to be of crabs or apples, the seeds of these should 
be collected in the fall when the fruit is ripe. 
They are generally got out by mashing the crabs, 
or apples. When the seeds are collected, put 
them immediately into fine earth ; or sow them at 
once. It may not, however, be convenient to sow 
them at once ; and, perhaps, the best way is to sow 
very early in the spring. If. the stocks be to be of 
stone fruit, the stones, as of cherries, plumbs, 



j ^.J THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 167 

peaches, and others, must be got when the fruit is 
ripe. The best way is to put them into fine earth, 
and keep them there till spring. The earth may 
be placed in a cellar ; or put into a barrel ; or, a 
little pit may be made in the ground, and it may 
be placed there. When the winter breaks up, dig 
a piece of ground deep and make it rich ; make it 
i| very fine ; form it into beds, three feet wide ; draw 
( drills across it at 8 inches distance ; make them 
I from two to three inches deep ; put in the seeds 
,1 pretty thick (for they cost little ;) cover them com- 
f pletely ; tread the earth down upon them ; and 
'I then smooth the surface. When the plants come 
up, thin them to about 3 inches apart ; and keep the 
ground between them perfectly clean during the 
summer. Hoe frequently ; but not deep near the 
plants ; for, we are speaking of trees here ; and 
'i trees do not renew their roots quickly as a cabbage, 
\ or a turnip, does. These young trees should be 
' kept, during the first summer, as moist as possible, 
'I without watering ; and the way to keep them as 
moist as possible is to keep the ground perfectly 
j, clean, and to hoe it frequently. I cannot help ob- 
'I serving here upon an observation of Mr. Mar- 
' SHALL ; " as to weeding,^^ says he, though seed- 
i ling trees must not be smothered, yet some small 
^ weeds may be sufi'ered to grow in summer, as they 
r help to shade the plants and keep the ground cooL^^ 
i Mercy on this Gentleman's readers ! Mr. Marshall 
I had not read Tull ; if he had, he never would 
'! have written this very erroneous sentence. It is 

* the roo^- of the weed that does the mischief. Let 
] there be a rod of ground well set with even " sinall 
' ioeeds,^^ and another rod kept weeded. Let them 
' cdjoin each other. Go, after 15 or 20 days of dry 

* weather ; examine the two ; and you will find the 



168 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap. 



weedless ground moist and fresh, while the other 
is dry as dust to a foot deep. The root of the 
weed sucks up every particle of moisture. What 
pretty things they are, then, to keep seedling trees 
cool ! — To proceed ; these seedlings, if well ma- 
naged, will be eight inches high, and some higher, 
at the end of the first summer. The next spring 
they should be taken up ; or, this may be done in 
the fall. They should be planted in rows, four 
feet apart, to give room to turn about amongst 
them ; and at two feet apart in the rows, if intend- 
ed to be grafted or budded without being again re- 
moved. If intended to be again removed, before 
grafting or budding, they may be put at a foot apart. 
They should be kept clean by hoeing between them, 
and the ground between them should be dug in the 
fall, but not at any other season of the year. — The 
plants will grow fast or slowly according to the soil 
and management ; and, he who knows how to bud 
or to graft, will know when the stock is arrived at 
the proper size for each purpose. — To speak ot 
the kind of stocks, most suitable to the different 
kinds of fruit trees, is reserved till we come to speak 
of the trees themselves ; but there are some re- 
marks to be made here, which have a general ap- 
plication, relative to the kinds of stocks. — It is 
supposed by some persons, that the nature of the 
stock affects the nature of the fruit ; that is to say, 
that the fruit growing on branches, proceeding from 
a hud, or a graft, partakes, more or less of the 
flavour of the fruit which would have grown on 
the stock, if the stock had been suffered to grow to 
a tree and to bear fruit. This is Mr. Marshall's 
notion. But, how erroneous it is must be manifest 
to every one when he reflects, that the stock for 
the pear tree is frequently the white-thorn. Can a 



v.] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 169 

pear partake of the nature of the haw^ vrhich 
grows upon the thorn, and which is a stone-fruit 
too 1 If this notion were correct, there could be 
hardly a single apple-orchard in all England : for. 
they graft upon crab-stocks ; and, of course, all 
the apples, in the course of years, would become 
crabs. Apricots and Peaches are, in England, al- 
ways put on plum-stocks ; yet, after centuries of 
this practice, they do not become plumbs. If the 
fruit of the graft partake of the nature of the 
stock, why not the wood and leaves ? Yet, is it not 
visible to all eyes, that neither ever does so par- 
take ? — This, then, like the carrying of the farina 
from the male to the female flower, is a mere whim, 
or dream. The bud, or graft; retains its own na- 
ture, wholly unchanged by the stock ; and, all that 
is of consequence, as to the kind of stock, is, whe- 
ther it be such as will last long^ and supply the 
tree with a suitable quantity of wood. This is a 
matter of great importance ; for, though peach will 
grow on peach, and apple on apple, the trees are 
not nearly so vigorous and durable as if the peach 
were put on the plum and the apple on the crab. 
In ISOO, I sent several trees from England to 
Messrs. James and Thomas Paul, at Busleton, in 
Pennsylvania. There was a Nectarine amongst 
these. It is well known, that, in 1817, there had 
been so great a mortality in the peach orchards, 
that they had become almost wholly extinct. At 
Busleton there had been as great a mortality as in 
any other part. Yet I, that year, saw the Nectarine 
tree lai^ge, sound in every part, fine and flourish- 
ing. It is very well known, that the peach trees 
here are very short-lived. Six, seven, or eight 
years, seem, to be the duration of their life. This 
Nectarine had stood seventeen years, and was 
15 



170 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



[Cfiap 



likely to stand twice as long yet to come. It is 
now growing in the garden of the late Mr. James 
Paul, in Lower Dublin Township ; and there any 
one may see it. — It is clear to me, therefore, that 
the short life of the peach-orchards is owing to the 
stock being" peach. No small part of the peach- 
trees are raised /rom the stone. Nothing is more 
frequent than to see a farmer, or his wife, when he 
or she has eaten a good peach, go and make a little 
hole and put the stone in the ground, in order to 
have a peach tree of the same sort ! Not consider- 
ing, that the stone never, except by mere accident^ 
produces fruit of the same quality as that within 
which it was contained, any more than the seed of 
a carnation produces flowers like those from which 
they proceeded. — The peaches in America are, 
when budded, put on peach-stocks ; and this, I 
think, is the cause of their swift decay. They 
should be put on plum-stocks ; for, to what other 
cause are we to ascribe the long life and vigorous 
.state of the Nectarine at Mr. Paul's ? The plum is 
a closer and harder wood than the peach. The 
peach-trees are destroyed by a worm,, or, rather, a 
sort of maggot, that eats into the hark at the stem. 
The insects do not like the plum bark ; and, be- 
sides, the plum is a more hardy and vigorous tree 
than the peach, and, observe, it is frequently, and 
most frequently, the feebleness, or sickliness, of the 
tree that creates the insects, and not the insects 
that create the feebleness and sickliness. There 
are thousands of peach trees in England and 
France that sue fifty years old, and that are still in 
vigorous fruitfulness. There is a good deal in cZz- 
mate, to be sure ; but, I am convinced, that there 
is a great deal in the stock, — Before I quit the sub- 
ct of stocks, let me beg the reader never, if he 



v.] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 171 

can avoid it, to make use of suckers, particularly 
for an apple or pear-orchard, which almost neces- 
sarily is to become pasture. Stocks formed out oi 
suckers produce suckers ; and, if the ground re- 
main in grass for a few years, there, w411 arise a 
young wood all over the ground ; and this wood, if 
not torn up by the plough, will, in a short time, 
destroy the trees, and will in still less time, deprive 
them of their fruitfulness. Besides this, suckers, 
being originally excrescences, and unnaturally vig- 
orous, make wood too fast, make too much wood; 
and, where this is the case, the fruit is scanty in 
quantity. " Haste makes waste" in most cases ; 
but, perhaps, in nothing so much as in the use of 
suckers as stocks. By waiting a year longer and 
bestowing a little care, you obtain seedling stocks ; 
and, really, if a man has not the trifling portion of 
patience and industry that is here required, he is 
unworthy of the good fruit and the abundant crops, 
which with proper management, are sure, in this 
country, to be the reward of his pains. — Look at 
England, in the spring ! There you see fruit trees 
of all sorts covered with hloorn ; and from all of it 
there sometimes comes, at last, not a single fruit. 
Here, is this favoured country, to count the blos- 
soms is to count the fruit ! The way to show our 
gratitude to God for such a blessing, is, to act well 
our part in turning the blessing to the best account. 

PLANTING. 

283. I am not to speak here of the situation for 
planting, of the aspect, of the nature of the soil, of 
the preparation of the soil ; for these have all been 
described in Chapter I, Paragraph 20, save and 
except, that, for trees, the ground should be pre- 
pared as directed for Asparagus, which see in its 
Alphabetical place, in Chapter IV. 



172 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



[Chap. 



284. Before the reader proceed further, he should 
read very attentively what is said of transplanting 
generally^ in Chapter III, Paragraph 109 and on- 
wards. He will there perceive the absolute neces- 
sity of the ground, to be planted in, being made 
perfectly jine^ and that no clods, great or small, 
ought to be tumbled in about the roots. This is so 
capital a point, that I must request the reader to 
pay particular attention to it. To remove a tree^ 
though young, is an operation that puts the vegeta- 
tive faculties to a severe test ; and, therefore, every 
thing should be done to render the shock as little 
injurious as possible. 

285. The tree to be planted should be as young 
as circumstances will allow. The season is just 
when the leaves become yellow, or, as early as pos- 
sible in the spring. The ground being prepared, 
and the tree taken up, prune the roots with a sharp 
knife so as to leave none more than about a foot 
long ; and, if any have been torn off nearer to the 
stem, prune the part, so that no bruises or ragged 
parts remain. Cut off all the fibres close to the 
roots ; for, they never live, and they mould, and do 
great injury. If cut off, their place is supplied by 
other fibres more quickly. Dig the hole to plant in 
three times as wide, and six inches deeper, than the 
roots actually need as mere room. And now, be- 
sides the fine earth generally, have some good 
mould sifted. Lay some of this six inches deep at 
the bottom of the hole. Place the roots upon this 
in their natural order, and hold the tree perfectly 
upright, while you put more sifted earth on the 
roots. Sway the tree backward and forward a lit- 
tle, and give it a gentle lift and shake, so that the 
fine earth may find its way amongst the roots and 
leave not the smallest cavity. Every root should 



V.j THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 173 

be closely touched by the earth in every part. When 
you have covered all the roots with the sifted earth, 
and have seen that your tree stands just as high 
with regard to the level of the ground as it did in 
the place where it before stood, allowing about 3 
ll inches for sinking, fill up the rest of the hole with 
f the common earth of the plat, and when you have 
about half filled it, tread the earth that you put in, 
but not very hard. Put on the rest of the earth, 
and leave the surface perfectly smooth. Do not iva- 
ter by any means. Water, poured on, in this case, 
sinks rapidly down, and makes cavities amongst the 
roots. Lets in air. Mould and canker follow ; and 
great injury is done. 

286. If the tree be planted in the fall, as soon as 
the leaf begins to be yellow ; that is to say, in Oc- 
tober early, it will have struck out new roots to the 
length of some inches before the winter sets in. 
And this is certainly the best time for doing the bu- 
siness. But, mind, the roots should be out of ground 
as short a time as possible ; and should by no means 

\ be permitted to get dry^ if you can avoid it ; for, 
; though some trees will live after having been a long 
j while out of ground, the shorter the time out of 
I ground the sooner the roots strike; and, if the roots 
i should get dry before planting, they ought to be 

soaked in water, rain or pond, for half a day before 

the tree be planted. 

287. If the tree be for an orchard, it must be five 
or six feet high, unless cattle are to be kept out for 
two or three years. And, in this case, the head of 
the tree must be pruned short, to prevent it from 
swaying about from the force of the wind. Even 
when pruned, it will be exposed to be loosened by 
this cause, and must be kept steady by a stake ; 
but, it must not be fastened to a stdke, until rain 

15* 



174 THE AMERICAN GARDENER, [Chap 

has come to settle the ground ; for, such fastening 
would prevent it from sinking with the earth. The 
earth would sink from it, and leave cavities about 
the roots. 

288. When the trees are short, they will require 
no stakes. They may be planted the second year 
after budding, and the first after grafting ; and these 
are the best times. If planted in the fall, the tree 
should be shortened very early in the spring, and 
in such a way as to answer the ends to be pointed 
out more particularly when we come to speak of 
pruning. 

289. If you plant in the spring, it should be as 
early as the ground will bear moving; only, bear 
in mind, that the ground must always be dry at top 
when you plant. In this case, the new roots will 
strike out almost immediately ; and as soon as the 
buds begin to swell, shorten the head of the tree. 
After a spring-planting, it may be necessary to 
guard against drought ; and the best protection is 
the laying of small stones of any sort round the 
tree, so as to cover the area of a circle of three 
feet in diameter, of which circle the stem of the tree 
is the centre. This will keep the ground cooler 
than any thing else that you can put upon it. 

290. As to the distances, at which trees ought to 
be planted, that must depend on the sort of tree, 
and on other circumstances. It will be seen by 
looking at the plan of the garden [Plate 1,) that I 
make provision for 70 trees, and for a row oi grape 
vines extending the length of two of the plats. 
The trees will have a space of 14 feet square each. 
But, in orchards, the distances for apples and pears 
must be much greater ; otherwise the trees will 
soon run their branches into, and injure each 
other. 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



175 



CULTIVATION. 

291. The Cultivation of fruit trees divides itself 
into two distinct parts ; the management of the tree 
itself, which consists of pruning and tying ; and 
the management of the ground where the trees 
grow^ which consists of digging, hoeing, and ma- 
nuring. The management of the tree itself differs 
with the sort of tree ; and, therefore, I shall treat 
of the management of each sort under its own par- 
ticular name. But the management of the ground 
where trees grow is the same in the case of all the 
larger trees ; and, for that reason, I shall here give 
directions concerning it. 

292. In the first place, the ground is always to 
be kept clear of weeds ; for, whatever they take is 
just so much taken from the fruit, either in quantity, 
or in quality, or in both. It is true, that very fine 
orchards have grass covering all the ground be- 
neath the trees ; but, these orchards would be still 
finer if the ground were kept clear from all plants 

(i whatever except th'e trees. Such a piece of ground 
is, at once, an Orchard and a Pasture : what is lost 
one way is, probably, gained the other. But, if we 
come to fine and choice fruits, there can be nothing 
that can grow beneath to balance against the injury 

j done to the trees. 

^ 293. The roots of trees go deep ; , but, the prin- 
cipal part of their nourishment comes from the top- 
soil. The ground should be loose to a good depth, 
which is the certain cause of constant moisture ; but 
trees draw downwards as w^ell as upwards, and 
draw^ more nourishment in the former than in the 
latter direction. Vineyards, as Tull observes, 
must always be tilled, in some way or other ; or 
they will produce nothing of value. He adds, that 
Mr. Evelyn says, that when the soil, wherein 



176 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



[Chap. 



fruit-trees are planted, is constantly kept in tillage, 
they grow up to an Orchard in half the time, they 
would do, if the soil were not tilled." Therefore, 
tillage is useful ; but, it were better, that there were 
tillage without under crops; for these crops take 
away a great part of the strength that the manure 
and tillage bring. V 

294. Now, then, as to the trees in my garden ; 
they are to be choice peaches, nectarines, apricots, 
plums, cherries, and grape vines, with a very few 
apples and pears. The sorts will be mentioned 
hereafter in the Alphabetical list ; but, the tillage 
for all except the grape vines, is the same ; and the 
nature of that exception will be particularly stated i1 
under the name of grape. • j 

295. It was observed before, that the ground is \ 
always to be kept clear of weeds. From the spring ] 
to the fall frequent hoeing all the ground over, j 
not only to keep away weeds but to keep the 1 
ground moist in hot and dry weather, taking care 
never to hoe but when the ground is dry at top. 
This hoeing should not go deeper than four or five 
inches ; for, there is a great difference between 
trees and herbaceous plants as to the renewal of | 
their roots respectively. Cut off the lateral roots • 
of a cabbage, or a turnip, of a wheat or a rye or an | 
Indian-corn plant, and new roots, from the parts [ 
that remain, come out in 12 hours, and the opera- 
tion, by multiplying the mouths of the feeders of 
the plant, gives it additional force. But, the roots 
of a tree consist of wood, more or less hard ; they 
do not quickly renew themselves : they are of a ^ 
permanent nature : and they must not be much mu- ^ 
tilated during the time that the sap is in the flow. 

296. Therefore, the ploughing between trees or * 
the digging between trees ought to take place only 



v.] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 1T7 

in the fall ^ which gives time for a renewal, or new 
supply, of roots before the sap be again in motion. 
For this reason, if crops be grovAm under trees in 
orchards, they should be of wheat, rye, winter- 
barley, or of something that does not demand a 
ploughing of the ground in the spring. In the gar- 
den, dig the ground well and clean, with a fork, late 
in November. Go close to the stems of the trees : 
but do not bruise the large roots. Clean and clear 
all well close round the stem. Make the ground 
smooth just there. Ascertain whether there be in- 
sects there of any sort. And, if there be, take care 
to destroy them. Pull, or scrape, off all rough bark 
at the bottom of the stem. If you even peel off the 
outside bark a foot or two up, in case there be in- 
sects, it will be the better. Wash the stems with 
water, in which tohacco has been soaked ; and do 
this, whether you find insects or not. Put the to- 
bacco into hot water, and let it soak 24 hours, be- 
fore you use the water. This will destroy, or drive 
away, all insects. 

297. But, though, for the purpose of removing 
all harbour for insects, you make the ground smooth 
just round the stem of the tree, let the rest of the 
ground lay as rough as you can ; for the rougher 
it lies the more will it be broken by the frost, which 
is a great enricher of all land. When the spring 
comes, and the ground is dry at the top, give the 
whole of the ground a good deep hoeing, which 
will make it level and smooth enough. Then go on 
again hoeing throughout the summer, and watching 
I well all attempts of insects on the stems and bark 
of the trees. 

^ 298. Diseases of trees are various in their kind ; 
but, nine times out of ten they proceed from the 
1 roct. Insects are much more frequently an effect 



178 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap 



than a cause. If the disease proceed from blight^ 
there is no prevention, except that which is suggest- 
ed by the fact, that feeble and sickly trees are fre- 
quently blighted when healthy ones are not ; but, 
when the insects come, they add greatly to the evil. 
They are generally produced by the disease, as 
maggots are by putrefaction. The aiifs are the 
only active insect for which there is not a cure ; 
and I know of no means of destroying them, but 
finding out their nests, and pouring boiling water on 
them. A line dipped in tar tied round the stem, 
will keep them from climbing the tree ; but they are 
still alive. As to the diminutive creatures that ap- 
pear as specks in the bark ; the best, and perhaps, 
he only remedy against the species of disease ol 
which they are the symptoms, consists of good 
^ants, good planting and good tillage. When or- 
^ards are seized with diseases that pervade the 
whole of the trees, or nearly the whole, the best 
way is to cut them down : they are more plague 
than profit, and, as long as they exist, they are a 
source of nothing but constantly-returning disap- 
pointment and mortification. However, as there 
are persons who have a delight in quackery, who i 
are never so happy as when they have some specific 
to apply, and to whom rosy cheeks and ruby lips 
are almost an eye-sore, it is, perhaps, fortunate, 
that the vegetable world presents them with pa- 
tients; and thus, even in the cotton-blight or can- ^ 
ker, we see an evil, which we may be led to hope is ^ 
not altogether unaccompanied wdth good. 

LIST OF FRUITS. ^ 

299. Having, in the former parts of this Chap- , 
TER, treated of the propagation, planting, and cul- , 
tivation of all fruit trees (the grape vine only ex- 
cepted) it would remain for me merely to give a 



THB AMERICAN GARDENER. 



179 



I List of the several fruits ; to speak of the different 
j sorts of each ; and of the mode of preserving them ; 
'i but the stocks and pruning- vary, in some cases ; 
M and, therefore, as I go along, I shall have to speak 
I of them. Before, however, I enter on this Alpha- 
I betical List, let me observe, that only a part of the 
fruits mentioned in it are proposed to be raised in 
j the garden ; and that the 70 trees, shown in the 
] Plate I, are intended to mark the paces, and, in 
: some degree, the form, of 6 Apple trees, 6 Apricots, 
!) 6 Cherries, 6 Nectarines, 30 Peaches, 6 Pears, and 
I 10 Plums ; and, that the trelises, on the Southern 
'j sides of Plats, No. 8 and 9, are intended to mark 
I the places for 4 Grape-Vines, there being another 
j Plate to explain more fully the object and dimen- 
sions of this trelis work. 
\ 300. APPLE. — Apples are usually grafted on 
ji crab-stocks (See Paragraph 281 ;) but, when you do 
I not want the trees to grow tall and large, it is bet- 
^ ter to raise stocks from the seed of some Apple not 
\ much given to produce large wood. Perhaps the 
Fall-Pippin seed may be as good as any. When 
i you have planted the tree, as directed in Paragraphs 
I 283 to 289, and when the time comes for shorten- 
ing the head, cut it off so as to leave only five or 
six joints or buds. These will send out shoots, 
^ which will become lim.bs. The tree will be what 
I they call, in England, a dwarf standard ; and, of 
, this description are to be all the 70 trees in the 
garden. — As to pruning^ see Peach ; for, the pru- 
ning of all these dwarf standards is nearly the 
same. — The sorts of Apples are numerous, and 
1 every body knows, pretty well, which are the best. 
I In my garden I should only have six apple trees ; 

and, theref re, they should be of the finest for the 
1 season at wTiich they are eaten. The earliest apple 

I 



180 THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap. 

is the Junating, the next the Summer Pearmain. 
Besides these I would have a Doctor-apple, a Fall- 
Pippin, a Newtown Pippin and a Greening, The 
quantity would not be very large that six trees 
would produce ; yet it would be considerable, and 
the quality would be exquisitely fine. I would not 
suffer too great a number of fruit to remain on the 
tree ; and, I would be bound to have the three last- 
named sorts weighing, on an average, 12 ounces, 
I have seen a Fall-Pippin that weighed a pound. — 
To preserve apples, in their whole state, observe 
this, that /ro5^ does not much injure them, provided 
they be kept in total darkness daring the frost and 
until they be used, and provided they be perfectly 
dry when put away. If put together in large par- 
cels, and kept from the frost, they heat, and then 
theyro^ ; and, those of them that happen not to rot, 
lose their flavour, become vapid, and are, indeed, 
good for little. This is the case with the Newtowr 
Pippins that are sent to England, which are ha^\ 
lost by rot, while the remainder are poor tasteless 
stuff, very little better than the English apples, the 
far greater part of which are either sour or mawk- 
ish. The apples thus sent, have every possible dis- 
advantage. They are gathered carelessly ; tossed 
into baskets and tumbled into barrels at once, and 
without any packing stuff between them ; the bar 
rels are flung into and out of wagons ; they are 
rolled along upon pavements ; they are put in the 
hold, or between the decks, of the ship : and, is it 
any wonder, that a barrel of pomace, instead of 
apples, arrive at Liverpool or London ? If, instead 
of this careless work, the apples were gathered {a 
week before ripe ;) not bruised at all in the gather- 
ing ; laid in the sun, on boards or cloths, three 
days, to let the watery particles evaporate a little ; 



v.] THE AMERICAN GARDENEK. ISl 

put into barrels with fine-cut straw-chaff, in such a 
way as that no apple touched another ; carefully 
e carried to the ship and put on board, and as care- 
3 ; fully landed ; and if this were the mode, one bar- 
i ||{ rel, though it would contain only half the quantity^ 
would sell for as much as, upon an average, taking- 
in loss by total destruction, twenty barrels sell for 
now. On the deck is the best part of the ship for 
;, apples ; but, if managed as I have directed, between 
decks would do very well. — In the keeping of ap- 
e pies for market, or for home-use, the same precau- 
tions ought to be observed as to gathering and lay- 
Ing out to dry ; and, perhaps, to pack in the same 
way also is the best mode that can be discovered. 
Dried Apples is an article of great and general 
] use. Every body knows, that the apples are peel- 
ed, cut into about eight pieces, the core taken out, 
and the pieces put in the sun till they become dry 
and tough. They are then put by in bags, or boxes, 
in a dry place. But, the flesh of the apple does not 
. change its nature in the drying; and, therefore, the 
: -finest, and not the coarsest, apples should have all 
this trouble bestowed upon them. 

301. APRICOT.— This is a very delightful fruit. 
I It comes earlier than the peach : and some like it 
j better. It is a hardier tree, bears as well as the 
peach, and the green fruit, when the size of a 
hickory-nut, makes a very good tart. When ripe^ 
or nearly ripe, it makes a better pie than the peach; 
and the tree, when well raised, planted, and culti-- 
; vated, will last a century, — Apricots are budded or 
grafted upon plum stocks, or upon stocks raised 
from Apricot-stones. They do not bear so soon as 
. , the peach by one year. For the pruning of them, 
( j[ see Peach. — There are many 3orts of Apricots, 
some come earlier, some are larger, and some finer 
16 



183 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap. 



than others. It may be sufficient to name the Brus- 
sels, the Moore-Park, and the Turkey. The first 
carries most fruit as to number ; but, the others are 
larger and of finer flavour. Perhaps two trees ot 
each of these sorts would be the most judicious se- 
lection. I have heard, that the Apricot does not do 
in this country ! That is to say, I suppose, it w^ill 
not do of its own accord, like a peach, by having 
the stone flung upon the ground, which it certainly 
will not: and it is very much to be commended for 
refusing to do in this way. But, properly managed, 
I know it W'il] do, for I never tasted finer Apricots 
than I have in America ; and, indeed, who can be- 
lieve that it will not do in a country, where there 
are no blights of fruit trees worth speaking of, and 
where melons ripen to such perfection in the natu 
ral ground and almost without care ? 

302. BARBERRY.— This fruit is well known. 
The tree, or shrub, on w^hich it grows, is raised from 
the seed, or from suckers, or layers. Its place 
ought to be in the South Border ; for, the hot sun 
is rather against its fruit growing large. 

303. CHERRY.— Cherries are budded or grafted 
i^pon stocks raised from cherry-stones of any sort. 
If you want the tree tall and large, the stock should 
come from the small black cherry tree that grows 
wald in the woods. If you w^ant it dwarf, sow the 
stones of a morello or a May-duke, The sorts of 
cherries are very numerous ; but, the six trees for 
my garden should be, a May-cherry, a May -duke, 
a black-heart, a white-heart, and two bigeroons 
The four former are well known in America, but I 
never saw but two trees of the last, and those I sent 
from England to Bustleton, in Pennsylvania, in the 
year 1800. They are now growing there, in the 
gardens of the two Messrs. Paul's. Cuttings from 



v.] THE AMERICAN GARDENER 183 

them have been carried and used as grafts all round 
the country. During the few days that I was at Mr. 
James Paul's, in 1817, several persons came for grafts; 
so that these trees must be pretty famous. The fruit 
is large, thin skinned, sm.all stone, and fine colour 
and flavour, and the tree grows freely and in beauti- 
ful form. — YoT Pruning, see Peach. — To 'preserve 
cherries, gather them without bruising ; take off the 
tails ; lay them in the sun on dry deal boards ; when 
quite dry put them by in bags in a dry place. They 
form a variety in the tart-makino- wav. 

304. CHESTNUT.— This is an inhabitant of the 
%voods ; and, as to its fruit, I have only to say, 
that the American is as much better than the Span- 
ish as the tree is d finer tree.- — To preserve chest- 
nuts, so as to have them to sow in the spring, or to 
eat through the winter, you must put them into a 
Dox, or barrel, mixed with, and covered over by, 
fne dry sand. If there be maggots in any of the 
chestnuts, they w^ill work up through the sand, to 
get to air ; and, thus, you have your chestnuts sweet 
and sound and fresh. To know w^hether chestnuts 
will grow, toss them into water. If they sivim. 
they will not grow. 

305. CRANBERRY.— This is one of the best 
fruits in the world. All tarts sink out of sight in 
point of merit, when compared with that made of 
the American Cranberry. There is a little dark 
red thing, about as big as a large pea, sent to Eng- 
land from the North of Europe, and is called a 
Cranberry ; but, it does not resemble the American 
in taste any more than in bulk. — It is v»'ell known 
that this valuable fruit is, in many parts of this 
country, spread over the low lands in great profu- 
sion ; and that the mere gathering of it is all that 
bountiful nature requires at our hands. — This fruit 



184 THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap. 

is preserved all the year, by stewing and putting 
into jars, and when taken thence is better than cur- 
rant jelly. The fruit, in its whole state, laid in a 
heap, in a dry room, will keep sound and perfectly 
good for six months. It will freeze and thaw and 
freeze and thaw again without receiving any in- 
jury. It may, if you choose, be kept in water all 
the while, w^ithout any injury. I received a barrel 
in England, mixed with water, as good and as fresh 
as I ever tasted at New York or Philadelphia. 

306. CURRANT.—There are red, white and , 
black, all well known. Some persons like one il 
best, and some another. The propagation and cul- ; 
tivation of all the sorts are the same. The currant \ 
tree is propagated from cuttings ; and the cuttings !^ 
are treated as has been seen in Paragraph 275. i 
When the tree has stood two years in the Nursery, | 
plant it where it is to stand ; and take care that it | 
has only one stem. Let no limbs come out to grow \ 
nearer than six inches of the ground. Prune the 
tree every year. Keep it thin of wood. Keep the 
middle open and the limbs extended ; and when 
these get to about three feet in length, cut off, every 
winter, all the last year'^s shoots. If you do not 
attend to this, the tree will be nothing but a great 
bunch of twigs, and you will have very little fruit. 
Cultivate and manure the ground as for other fruit [ 
trees. See Paragraphs 289 to 296. In this coun- 
try the currant requires shade in summer. If ex- 
posed to the full sun, the fruit is apt to become too 
sour. Plant it, therefore, in the South Border. 

307. FIG. — There are several sorts of Figs, but 
all would ripen in this country. The only difficulty 
must be to protect the trees in winter, which can 
hardly be done without covering pretty closely. 
Figs are raised either from cuttings or layers^ 



v.] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 185 

wtiich are treated as other cuttings and layers are. 
See Paragraphs 275 and 277. The fig is a mawkish 
thing at best ; and, amongst such quantities of fine 
fruit as this country produces, it can, from mere 
curiosity only, be thought worth raising at all, and 
especially at great trouble. 

308. FILBERD.— This is a sort of Nut, oblong 
in shape, very thin in the shell, and in flavour as 
much superior to the common nut as a Water- 
melon is to a pumpkin. The American nut tree is 
a dwarf shrub. The Filberd is a tall one, and will, 
under favourable circumstances, reach the height 
of thirty feet. I never saw any Filberd trees in 
this country, except those that I sent from England 
in 1800. They are six in number, and they are 
now growing in the garden of the late Mr. James 
Paul, of Lower Dublin Township, in Philadelphia 
county. I saw them in 1817, when they were, I 
should suppose, about 20 feet high. They had al- 
ways borne, I was told, very large quantities, never 
failing. Perhaps five or six bushels a year, mea- 
sured in the husk, a produce very seldom witnessea 
in England ; so that, there is no doubt that the cli- 
mate is extremely favourable to them. Indeed to 
what, that is good for man, is it not favourable 1 — 
The Filberd is propagated from layers, or from 
suckers, of which latter it sends forth great abun- 
dance. The layers are treated like other layers, 
(See Paragraph 276,) and they very soon become 
trees. The suckers are also treated like other 
suckers. (See Paragraph 277;) but, layers are 
preferable, for the reasons before stated. — This 
tree cannot be propagated from seed to bear Fil- 
herds. The seed, if sown, will produce trees ; but, 
those trees will bear poor thick-shelled nuts, except 
it be by mere accident. It is useful to know how 
16* 



186 THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Cliap 



to preserve the fruit ; for it is very pleasant to have J 
i't all the winter lon^. Always let the filberds hang 
on the tree till quite ripe, and that is ascertained ^ 
by their coming out of the husk without any effort. J 
They are then brown, and the butt ends of them j 
white. Lay them in the sun for a day to dry ; then 
put them in a box, or jar, or barrel, with very fine 
dry sand. Four times as much sand as lilberds, | 
and put them in any dry place. Here they will ^ 
keep well till April or May ; and, perhaps, longer i\ 
This is better a great deal than putting them, as p 
they do in England, into jars, and the jars into a 
cellar ; for if they do not mould in that situation, 
they lose much of their sweetness in a few months. 
The burning sun is apt to scorch up the leaves of 
the Filberd tree. I would, therefore, plant a row ^ 
of them as near as possible to the South fejice. 
Ten trees at eight feet apart might be enough — i 
The Filberd will do very well under the shade of 
lofty trees, if those trees do not stand too thick. 
And it is by no means an ugly shrub, while the 
wood of it is, as well as the nut wood, which is, in 
England, called hazel, and is a very good wood. 
In the oak-woods there, hazel is very frequently | 
the underwood ; and it makes small hoops, and is 
applied to various other purposes. — I cannot dis- 
miss this article without exhorting the American \ 
farmer to provide himself with some of this sort of , 
tree, which, when small, is easily conveyed to any 
distance in winter, and got ready to plant out in 
the spring. Those that are growing at Mr. Paul's 
were dug up, in England, in January, shipped to 
New York, carried on the top of the stage, in the 
dead of winter to Busleton, kept in a cellar till ] 
spring, and then planted out. These were the first [ 
trees of the kind, as far as I have been able to ' 



v.] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 187 

learn, that ever found their way to this country. 
I hear that Mr. Stephen Girard takes to him- 
self the act of first introduction, from France. 
But, I must deny him this. He, I am told, brought 
his trees several years later than I sent mine. 

309. GOOSEBERRY.— Various are the sorts, 
and no one that is not good. The shrub is pro- 
pagated precisely like that of the currant. I can- 
not tell the cause that it is so little cultivated in 
America. I should think (though I am by no 
means sure of the fact) that it would do very well 
under the shade of a South Fence. However, as 
far as the fruit is useful in its green state, for tarts, 
the Rhubarb supplies its place very well. The 
fruit is excellent when well raised. They have 
gooseberries in England nearly as large as pigeon's 
eggs, and the crops that the trees bear are pro- 
digious. 

310. GRAPE. — This is a very important article ; 
and, before I proceed to treat of the culture of the 
grape-vine, I must notice the astonishing circum- 
stance, that that culture should be almost wdiolly 
unknown in this country of fine sun, I have asked 
the reason of this, seeing that the fruit is so good, 
the crop so certain, and culture so easy. The only 
answer that I have received is, that the rose-bug- 
destroys the fruit. Now, this I know, that I had 
a grape vine in my court-yard at Philadelphia ; 
that it bore nothing the first year ; that I made 
an arched trelis for it to run over ; and that I 
had hundreds of pounds of fine grapes hanging 
down in large bunches. Yes, I am told, but this 
was in a city ; and amongst houses, and there the 
grapes do very well. Then, 1799, I saw, at Spring 
Mills, on the banks of the Schuylkill, in Pennsyl- 
vania, the Vineyard of Mr. Le Gau, which covered 



188 THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap 



about two acres of ground, and the vines of which 
w^ere loaded with fine grapes of, at least, twenty 
different sorts. The vineyard was on the side of a 
little hill ; on the top of the hill was a corn-field, 
and in the front of it, across a little valley, and on 
the side of another little hill, was a wood of loftv 
trees ; the country in general, being very much 
covered with woods. Mr. La Gau made wine from i 
this Vineyard. The vines are planted at about k 
four feet apart, grew upright, and were tied to 
sticks about five feet high, after the manner of ; 
some, at least, of the vineyards of France. — Now, j 
are not these facts alone decisive in the negative , 
of the proposition, that there is a generally preva- . 
lent obstacle to the growing of grapes in this . 
country ? — Mr. Hulme, in his Journal to the West . 
{See my Year's Residence, Paragraph 892,) gives 
an account of the Vineyards and of the wine made, 
at Vevay, on the Ohio. He says, that, that year, \ 
about five thousand gallons of wine were made : 
and, he observes, what more can be wanted for the 
grape-vine, than rich land and hot sun, — Besides, is 
not the grape-vine a native here ? There are many 
different sorts of grapes, that grow in the woods, 
climb the trees, cover some of them over, and bear 
and ripen their fruit. How often do we meet with 
a vine, in the autumn, with Grapes, called chicken 
grapes, hanging on it from every bough of an oak 
or some other timber-tree ! This grape resembles, ^ 
as nearly as possible, what is, in England, called 
the Black cluster ; and, unquestionably, only wants - 
cultivation to give it as good a flavour. Does the j 
Rose hug prevent these vines from bearing, or from , 
ripening their fruit ? — Taking it for granted, then, [ 
that this obstacle is imaginary, rather than real, I ^ 
shall now proceed to speak of the propagation and ; 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



189 



cultivation of the grape-vine in the open ground 
of a garden, and, in doing this, I shall have fre- 
quently to refer to Plate III. — The grape-vine is 
raised from cuttings, or from laytrs. As to the 
first, you cut off, as early as the ground is open in 
the spring, a piece of the last yearns wood ; that is 
to say, a piece of a shoot, which grew during the 
last summer. This cutting should, if convenient, 
have an inch or two of the former year's wood at 
the bottom of it ; but, this is by no means abso- 
lutely necessary. The cutting should have/crwr or 
jive buds or joints. Make the ground rich, move 
it deep, and make it fine. Then put in the cutting 
with a setting-stick, leaving only two buds, or joints, 
above ground ; fasten the cutting well in the ground; 
and, then, as to keeping it cool and moist, see cut- 
tings, in Paragraph 275. — Layers from grave-vines 
are obtained with great ease. You have only to lay 
a shoot, or limb, however young or old, upon the 
ground, and cover any part of it with earth, it will 
strike out roots the first summer, and will become 
a vine, to be carried and planted in any other place. 
But, observe, vines do not transplant well. For 
this reason, both cuttings and layers, if intended to 
be removed, are usually set, or layed, in jlower-pots, 
out of which they are turned, with the ball of earth 
along with them, into the earth where they are in- 
tended to grow and produce their fruit. — I have 
now to speak more particularly of the vines of my 
garden. Plate I. represents, or, at least, I mean 
it to represent, on the south side of the Plats No. 
8 and TS^o. 9, two trelis works for vines. These 
are to he jive feet high, and are to consist of two 
rows of little upright bars two inches and a half by 
twii inches, put two feet into the ground, and made 
of Locust, and then they will, as you well know, 



v.] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 191 



last /or ever, without paint and without any kind 
of trouble. — Now, then, bear in mind, that each of 
these Plats, is, from East to V/est, 70 feet long, 
Each will, therefore, take four vines, allowing to 
each vine an extent of 16 feet, and something more 
for overrunning branches. — Look, now, at Plate 
III, which exhibits, in all its dimensions, the cut- 
ting' become a plant, Fig. 1. The first year of its 
being a vine after the leaves are off and before 
pruning. Fig. 2. The same year's vine pruned 
in winter. Fig. 3. The vine, in the next summer, 
with shoots, leaves, and grapes, Fig. 4. — Having 
measured your distances, put in a cutting at each 
place where there is to be a vine. You are to leave 
two joints or buds out of ground. From these v/ill 
come tivo shoots perhaps ; and, if two come, rub 
off the top one and leave the bottom one, and, in 
winter, cut off the bit of dead wood which will, in 
Ihis case, stand above the bottom shoot. Choose, 
Jiowever, the upper one to remain, if the lower one 
be very weak. Or, a better way is, to put in two 
or three cuttings within an inch or two of each 
other, leaving only one bud to each out of ground, 
and taking away, in the fall, the cuttings that send 
up the weakest shoots. The object is to get one 
good shoot, coming out as near to the ground as 
possible. — This shoot you tie to an upright stick, 
letting it ^row its full length. When winter comes, 
cut this shoot down to the bud nearest to the 
ground. — The next year another, and a much 
stronger shoot will come out ; and, when the leaves 
are off, in the fall, this shoot will be eight or ten 
feet long, having been tied to a stake as it rose, 
and will present what is described in Fig. 1, Plate 
III. You must make your trelis ; that is, put in 
your upright Locust-bars to tie the next summer's 



192 THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap. 

shoots to. You will want (See Fig. 2.) eight shoots 
to come out to run horizontally, to be tied to these 
bars. You must now, then, in winter, cut off your 
vine, leaving eight buds, or joints. You see there 
is a mark for this cut, at a, fig. 1. During summer 
8 shoots will come, and, as they proceed on, they 
must be tied with matting, or something soft, to the 
bars. The whole vine, both ways included, is sup- 
posed to go 16 feet ; but, if your tillage be good, 
it will go much further, and then the ends must be 
cut off in winter. — Now, then, winter presents you 
your vine as in jig. 2 ; and now you must prune, 
which is the all-important part of the business. — 
Observe, and bear in mind, that little or no fruit 
ever comes on a grape-vine, except on young shoots 
that come out of wood of the lo.st year. All the 
four last year's shoots that you find in^^. 2, would 
send out bearers ; but, if you suffer that, you will 
have a great parcel of small wood, and little or no 
fruit next year. Therefore, cut off 4 of the last 
year's shoots, as at 5. {Fig, 3.) leaving only one 
hud. The four other shoots will send out a shoot 
from every one of their buds, and, if the vine be 
strong, there will be two hunches of grapes on each 
of these young shoots ; and, as the last year's shoots 
are supposed to be each 8 feet long, and as there 
generally is a bud at, or about, every half foot, 
every last year's shoot will produce 32 bunches of 
grapes ; every vine 128 bunches ; and the 8 vines 
512 ; and, possibly, nay, probably, so many pounds 
of grapes ! Is this incredible ? Take, then, this 
well known fact, that there is a grape vine, a single 
vine, with only one stem, in the King of England's 
Gajdens at his palace of Hampton Court, which 
has, for, perhaps, half a century, produced on an 
average, annually, a ton of grapes; that is to 



V ] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 193 

say, 2,240 pounds Avoirdupois weight. That vine 
covers a space of about 40 feet in length and 20 in 
breadth. And your two trelises, being, together, 
128 feet long, and 4 deep, would form a space of 
more than half the dimensions of the vine of 
Hampton Court. However, suppose you have 
only a fifth part of what you might have, a hun- 
dred bunches of grapes are worth a great deal 
more than the annual trouble, which is, indeed, 
very little. Fig. 4 shows a vine in summer. You 
see the four shoots hearing, and four other shoots 
coming on for the next year, from the butts left at 
the winter pruning, as at h. These four latter you 
are to tie to the bars as they advance on during the 
summer. — When winter comes again, you are to 
cut off the four shoots that sent out the bearers 
during the summer, and leave the four that grew 
out of the butts. Cut the four old shoots that have 
borne, so as to leave but one bud at the butt. And 
they will then be sending out wood, while the other 
four will be sending out fruit. ,And thus you go on 
year after year for your life ; for, as to the vine, i-t 
will, if well treated, outlive you and your children 
to the third and even thirtieth generation. I think 
they say, that the vine at Hampton Court was 
planted in the reign of King William. — During the 
summer there are two things to be observed, as to 
pruning. Each of the last yearns shoots has 32 
buds, and, of course, it sends out 32 shoots with 
the grapes on them, for the grapes come out of the 
2 first fair buJs of these shoots. So that here 
would be an enormous quantity of wood, if it were 
all left till the end of summer. But, this must not 
be. When the grapes get as big as peas, cut off 
the green shoots that bear them, at two buds dis- 
tance from the fruit. This is necessary in order to 
17 



194 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap. 



clear the vine of confusion of branches, and also 
to keep the sap back for the supply of the fruit. 
These new shoots, that have the bunches on, must 
be kept tied to the trelis, or else the wind would 
tear them oft. The other thing is, to take care 
to keep nicely tied to the bars the shoots that are 
to send forth bearers the next year ; and, if you 
observe any little side-shcots coming out of them 
to crop these off as soon as they appear, leaving 
nothing but the clear, clean shoot. It may be re- 
marked, that the butt, as at 5, when it is cut off the 
next time, will be longer by a hud. That Avill be 
so ; but, by the third year the vine will be so strong, 
that you may safely cut the shoots back to within 
six inches of the main trunk, leaving the new 
shoots to come out of it where they will ; taking 
care to let but one grow for the summer. If shoots 
start out of the main trunk irregularly, rub them 
off as soon as they appear, and never suffer your 
vine to have any more than its regular number ot 
shoots. As to cultivation of the ground, the 
ground should not only be deeply dug in the fall, 
but, v/ith a fork, two or three times during the 
summer. They plough between them in Langue- 
doc, as we do between the Indian Corn. The 
ground should be manured every fall, with good 
rich manure. Blood of any kind is excellent for 
vines. But, in a word, the tillage and the manuring 
cannot be too good. All that now remains is to 
speak of the sorts of grapes. The climate of this 
country will ripen any sort of grape. But, it may 
be as well to have some that come early. The 
Black July grape, as it is called in England, or, as 
it is called in France, the Noir Hatif is the earliest 
of all. I would have this for one of my eight 
vines ; and, for the other seven I would have, the 



v.] 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



195 



Chasselas ; the Burgundy ; the Black Muscadine ; 
the Black Frontinac ; the Red Frontinac ; the 
White Sweet Water; and the Black Hamburgh^ 
which is the sort of the Hampton-Court Vine. — In 
cases where grapes are to be grown against houses, 
or to be trained over bovvers, the principle is the 
same, though the form may differ. If against the 
side of a house, the main stem of the vine might, by 
degrees, be made to go, I dare say, a hundred feet 
high. Suppose 40 feet. In that case, it would be 
forty instead of four ; but the side shoots, or alter- 
nate bearing limbs, would still com.e out in the same 
manner. The ,stem, or side limbs, may, with the 
greatest ease^ be made to accommodate themselves 
to windows, or to any interruptions of smoothness 
on the surface. If the side of the house, or place, 
be not very high, not more than 15 or 20 feet ; the 
best way is to plant the vine in the middle of your 
space, and, instead of training an upright stem, 
.take the two lowest shoots and lead them along, 
one froni each side of the plant, to becomic stems, 
to lie along within six inches or a foot of the ground. 
These will, of course, send out shoots, which you 
will train upright against the building, and which 
you will cut out alternately, as directed in the 
other case. 

311. HUCKLEBERRY.— It is well known that 
it grows wild in great abundance, in many parts, 
and especially in Long Island, where it gives rise 
to a holiday, called Huckleberry Monday. It is a 
very good fruit for tarts mixed with Currants ; and 
by no means bad to eat in its raw state. 

312 MADEIRA NUT.— See Walnut. 

313. MEDLAR. — A very poor thing indeed. The 
Medlar is propagated by grafting on cra5-stocks, 
or pear-stocks. It is, at any rate, especially in this 



196 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap. 



country, a thing not worthy of a place in a garden. 
At best, it is only one degree better than a rotten 
apple. 

314. MELON.— See Melon in Chapter lY. 

315. MULBERRY.— This tree is raised from 
cuttings or from layers. See Paragraphs 275 and 
377. The White-Mulberry, which is the finest, 
and Vvhich the Silk worm feeds on, grows vAld, and 
bears well, at two miles from the spot where I am 
now Avriting. 

316. NECTARINE, — As to propagation, planting 
and cultivation, the Nectarine is, in all respects, 
the same as the peach, which, therefore, see. It 
is certainly a finer fruit, especially the Violet Nec- 
tarine ; but, it is not grown, or, but very little, in 
America. I cannot believe, that there is any in- 
surmountable obstacle in the way. It is grown in 
England very w^ell. The White French would 
certainly do here ; and it is the most beautiful of 
fruit, and a greater bearer, though not so fine in 
flavour, as the Violet, The Newington, the Roman. 
are by no means so good. I would have in the 
Garden three trees of each of the two former. 

317. NUT.— Grows wild. Not worthy of a 
place in the Garden. Is propagated, and the fruit 
preserved, like Filberd, which see. 

318. PEACH. — The peach being the principal 
tree for the garden, I shall, under this head, give 
directions for pruning and forming the tree, — 
Peaches are propagated by budding. The stock 
should be of plum, for the reasons given in Para- 
graph 281. — The tree is to be planted, agreeably to 
the directions in Paragraphs 2S2 to 288. And now 
for the pruning and forming the tree. Look at 
Plate IV. fig, 2, and fi.g. 3. The first is a peach 
tree such as I would have it at four or five years, 



198 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap 



old ; the last is a peach tree such as we generally 
see at that age. The practice is to plant the tree, 
and to let it grow in its own way. The conse- 
quence is, that, in a few years, it runs up to ^ long 
naked stem with two or three long naked ];mbs, 
having some little weak boughs at the tops^ and, 
the tree being top-heavy, is, nineteen times out of 
twenty, leaning on one side ; and, it presents, alto- 
gether, a figure by no means handsome in itself or 
creditable to the owner. — This is Jig. 3. — Now, to 
have Jig. 2, the following is the way. — The tree 
should, in the first place, be budded very near to the 
ground. After it be planted, cut it down to within 
a foot and a half of the ground, and always cut 
sloping close to a bud. In this foot and a half, there 
will be many buds, and they will, the first summer, 
send out many shoots. Now, when shoots begin 
to appear, rub them all off but three, leave the top 
one, and one on each side, at suitable distances 
lower down. These will, in time become limbs. 
The next year, top the upright shoot (that came i 
out of the top bud) again, so as to bring out other ! 
horizontal limbs, pointing in a different direction 
from those that came out the last year. Thus the 
tree will get a spread. After this, you must keep 
down the aspiring shoots ; and, every winter, cut 
out some of the weak wood, that the tree may not > 
be over-burdened with wood. If, in time, the tree 
be getting thin of bearing wood towards the trunk, [ 
cut some of the limbs back, and they will then send 
out many shoots, and fill up the naked places. The 
lowest limb of the tree, should come out of the 
trunk at not more than 9 or 10 inches from the ^ 
ground. The greater part of the tree will be within i 
the reach of a man from the ground ; and a short 
step-ladder reaches the rest. — By this management 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



199 



the tree is always in a state of full bearing. Always 
young. To talk of a tree's being worn out is non- 
sense. But, without pruning, it Avill soon wear out. 
It is the pruning that makes it always young. In 
the ''Ecole du Jardin Potagur,^^ by Monsieur De 
CoMBLES, there is an account of peach trees in full 
bearing at fifty years old. And, little do people 
here imagine to what a distance a peach tree will, 
if properly managed, extend. Mr. De Combles 
speaks of numerous peach trees extending to more 
than fifty feet in length on the trelis, and twelve feet 
in breadth, or height, and in full bearing in every 
part. Here is a space of six hundred square feet, 
and, in case of a good crop, four peaches at least 
in every square foot, making, in the whole, 2,400 
peaches, which would fill little short of ten or twelve 
bushels. This is to be seen any year at Mont- 
REUiL in France. To be sure, these trees are tied 
to trelises, and have walls at their back ; but, this 
climate requires neither ; and, surely, fine trees and 
fine fruit and large crops may be had in a country 
where blights are almost unknown, and where the 
young fruit is never cut off by frosts, as it is in 
England and France. To preserve the young fruit 
in those countries, people are compelled to cover 
the trees by some means or other, in March and 
April. Here there needs no such thing When 
you see the blossom, you know that the fruit is to 
follow. By looking at the Plan of the Garden, 
Plate I, you will see, that the Plats, No. 8 and 9, 
contain^SO trees and the two vine-trelises. The 
Plats are, you will remember, 70 feet long and 56 
wide. Of course, putting 5 trees one w^ay and 4 
the other, each tree has a space of 14 feet, so that 
the branches may extend horizontally 7 feet from 
the trunk of the tree, before they meet. In these 



200 



THE A3IERICAN GARDENER. [Chap. 



two Plats 14 feet wide is left clear for the grape 
vines. — These 30 Peach-trees, properly managed, 
would yield more fruit, even m bulk, than a large 
orchard in the common way; and ten times as much 
in point of value ; the size as well as the flavour of 
the fruit are greatly improved by this mode of cul- 
ture. — However, the sort is of very great conse- 
quence. It is curious enough, that people in gene- 
ral think little of the sort in the case of peaches^ 
though they are so choice in the case of apples. A 
peach is a peach, it seems, though I knovv' of no ap- 
ples between which there is more difference than 
there is between different sorts of peaches, some of 
which melt in the mouth, while others are little 
better than a white turnip. — The sort is, then, a 
matter of the first importance ; and, though the 
sorts are very numerous, the thirty trees that I 
would have should be as follows : — 1 Violette Ha- 
live, 6 Early Montauhon, 1 Vanguard, 6 Royul 
George, 6 Grosse Mignonne, 4 Early Noblesse, 
3 Gallande, 2 Bellgarde, 2 Late Noblesse, These 
are all to be had of Mr. Prince, of Flushing, in this 
island, and, as to his icord, every body knows that 
it may be safely relied on. What is the trifling ex- 
pense of 30 trees ! And, when you once have them, 
you propagate from them for your life. Even for 
the fee-ding of hogs, a gallon of peaches of either 
of the above sorts is worth twenty gallons of the 
poor, pale, tasteless things that we see brought to 
market. — As to dried peaches, every body knows 
that they are managed as dried apples are ; only 
that they must be gathered for this purpose before 
they be soft. 

319. PEAR. — Pears are grafted on pear-stocky 
on quince-stocks, or on those of the white-thorr 
The last is best, because most durable, and, fc*^* 



v.] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 201 

dwarf trees, much the best, because they do not 
throw up wood so big and so lofty. For orchards, 
pear-stocks are best ; but not from suckers on any 
account. They are sure to fill the orchard with 
suckers. — The pruning for your pear trees in the 
garden should be that of the peach. The pears will 
grow higher; but they may be made to spread at 
bottom, and that will keep them from towering too 
much. They should stand together, in one of the 
Plats, 10 or 11. — The sorts of pears are numerous ; 
the six that I should choose are, the Vergalouse, 
the Winter Bergamot, the D^Auche, the Beurre^ 
the Chainnontelle, the Winter Bonchretian. 

320. PLUMS. — How is it that we see so few 
plums in America, when the markets are supplied 
with cart-loads in such a chilly, shady, and blighty 
country as England. A Green-gage Plum is very 
little inferior to the very finest peach ; and I never 
tasted a better Green-gage than I have at New York. 
It must, therefore, be negligence. But Plums are 
prodigious hearers, too ; and would be very good 
for hogs as well as peaches. — This tree is grafted 
upon plum-stocks, raised from stones by all means ; 

(for suckers send out a forest of suckers. — The pru- 
ning is precisely that of the peach. — The six trees 
that I would have in the g^arden should be 4 Green 
gages, 1 Orlean. 1 Blue Perdigron. 

321. QUINCE. — Should grow in a moist place 
and in very rich ground. It is raised from cuttings, 
or layers, and these are treated like other cuttings 
and lavers. — Quinces are dried like apples. 

322. ' RASPBERRY.— A sort oi woody herb, but 
produces fruit that vies, in point of crop as well as 
flavour, with that of the proudest tree. I have ne- 
ver seen them fine in America since I saw them co- 
vering hundreds of thousands of acres of ground in 



202 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap. 



the Promnce of New Brunswick, They come there 
even in the interstices of the rocks, and, when the 
August sun has parched up the leaves, the land^^cape 
is red with the fruit. Where woods have been 
burnt down, the raspberry and the huckle-berry in- 
stantly spring up, divide the surface between them, 
and furnish autumnal food for flocks of pigeons that 
darken the earth beneath their flight. Whence 
these plants coine, and cover spots thirty or forty 
miles square, which have been covered wdth woods 
for ages upon ages, I leave for philosophers to say, 
contenting myself with relating how they come and 
how they are treated in gardens. — They are raised 
from suckers, though they may be raised from cut' 
tings. The suckers of this year, are planted out 
in rows, six feet apart, and the plants two feet apart 
in the rows. This is done in the fall, or early in 
the spring. At the time of planting they should ^ 
be cut down to within afoot of the ground. They 
will bear a little, and they will send out several 
suckers which will bear the next year.— About four 
is enough to leave, and those of the strongest. 
These should be cut oflf in the fall, or early in 
spring, to within four feet of the ground, and should |i 
be tied to a small stake. A straight branch of Lo- 
cust is best, and then the stake lasts a life-time at 
least, let the life be as long as it may. The next |^ 
year more suckers come up, which are treated in 
the same way. — Fifty clumps are enough, if well ^ 
managed. — There are white and red, some like one [ 
best and some the other. To have them fine, you i 
must dig in manure in the Autumn, and keep the r 
ground clean during the Summer by hoeing. — I have ) 
tried to dry the fruit ; but it lost its flavour. Rasp- j 
berry-Jam is a dee»p-red sugar; and raspberry- ( 
wine is red brandy, rum, or whiskey ; neither hav- r. 



v.] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 203 

\ ing the taste of the fruit. To eat cherries, pre 
, served in spirits, is only an apology, and a very 
poor and mean one, for dram-drinking ; a practice 
which every man ought to avoid, and the very 
i thought of giving way to which ought to make the 
: cheek of a woman redden with shame. 

823. STRAWBERRY.— This plant is a native 
I of the fields and woods here, as it is in Europe. 
There are many sorts, and all are improved by cul- 
tivation. The Scarlet, the Alpine, the Turkey, the 
Haut'hois, or high-stalked, and many others, some 
of which are white, and some of so deep a red as 
to approach towards a black. To say which sort is 
best is very difficult. A variety of sorts is best. — 
They are propagated from young plants that grow 
out of the old ones. In the summer the plant sends 
forth runners. Where these touch the ground, at 
a certain distance from the plant, come roots, and 
from these roots, a plant springs up. This plant is 
put out early in the fall. It takes root before win- 
ter ; and the next year it will hear a little ; and send 
out runners of its own. — To miake a Strawberry- 
bea, plant three rows a foot apart, and at 8 inches 
apart in the rows. Keep the ground clean, and the 
new plants, coming from runners, will fill up the 
whoie of the ground, and will extend the bed on 
the sides. — Cut off the runners at six inches dis- 
tance from the sides, and then you have a bed three 
* feel wide, covering all the ground; and this is the 
best way ; for the fruit then lodges on the stems 
and reaves, and is not beaten into the dirt by heavy 
rains, which it is if the plants stand in clumps with 
clear ground between them. — If you have more 
beds than one, there should be a clear space of two 
feet wide between them, and this space should be 
well manured and deeply digged every fall, and kept 



204 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap, 



clean by hoeing in the summer. If weeds come up 
in the beds, they should be carefully pulled out. — - 
In November the leaves should be cut off with a 
scythe, or reap-hook, and there should be a little 
good mouldy manure scattered over them. — They 
will last in this way for many years. When they 
begin to fail, make new beds. Supposing you to 
have five or six beds, you may make one new one 
every year and thus keep your supply always ample. 

324. VINE.— See Grape. 

325. WALNUT.— The butter-nut, the black wal- 
nut, the hickory or white walnut, are all inhabitants 
of the American woods. The English and French 
Walnut, called here the Madeira Nut, is too sensi- 
ble of the frost to thrive much in this climate. 
Two that I sent to Pennsylvania in 1800 are alive, 
and throw out shoots every year ; but they have 
got to no size, their shoots being generally cut down 
in winter. — Walnuts are raised from seed. — To pre- 
serve this seed, which is also the fruit, you must 
treat it like that of the Filherd, which see. — It is 
possible, that the Madeira Nut grafted upon the 
black walnut, or upon either of the other two, 
might thrive in this climate. 



CHAPTER VL 
FLOWER^. 

OF FLOWERS, AND OF ORNAMENTAL GARDENING IN 
GENERAL. 

326. My reason for making Flowers a part of my 
subject, have been stated in Paragraphs 6 and 97. 
However, if the American Farmer have no taste 



VI.] 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



205 



for flowers, his wife and daughters may ; and this 
part of the book can, at any rate, do him no harm. 

327. Under the head of Flowers come flowering 
trees and shrubs; and, therefore, I must, in this 
place, say a little of these and of ornamental gar- 
dening. It is by no means my intention to attempt 
to give an account of all the flowers that come into 
the florist's catalogue. That catalogue, with only 
a very short description of each flower, would fill 
ten volumes, each surpassing this in bulk. I do not 
blame the taste of those who study botany, and who 
find pleasure in the possession of curious trees and 
plants ; but, all that I shall attempt, is, to speak ol 
those flowers that stand most prominent as to their 
capacity of making a beautiful sJiow and of sending 
forth fragrance. 

328. As to the spot for flowers, the smaller kinds, 
and even small shrubs, such as roses, dwarf honey- 
suckles, and the like, maybe planted by the sides 
of the broad walks in the kitchen garden, or, a lit- 
tle piece of ground may be set apart for the pur- 
pose. In cases where there are what are usually 
called pleasure-grounds, large shrubs, and, if the 
grounds be extensive, lofty trees come in. And, in 
the placing of the whole of the trees and plants, 
the most lofty should be farthest from the walk. 

329. As to the manner of sowing, planting, trans- 
planting, and cultivating, what has been said of fruit 
trees and of garden vegetables and herbs applies 
here. The ground must be good, well tilled, and 
kept clean, or the plants and flowers will not be line. 

330. Before I proceed to the Alphabetical List, 
let me again observe, that I merely give a selection, 
such as appears to me to be best calculated for gra- 
tifying, at different seasons, the sight, or the smell, 
or both. That there is a great deal in rarity is 

18 



206 THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap. 



evident enough; for, while the English think no- 
thing of the Hawthorn^ the Americans think no- 
thing of the Arbutus, the Rhododendron, the Kal-- 
mia, and hundreds of other shrubs, which are 
amongst the choicest in England. The little dwarf 
brush stuff, that infects the plains in Long Island 
under the name of Kill-Calf, is, under a fine La- 
tin name, a choice green-house plant in England, 
selling for a dollar when not bigger than a handful 
of thyme. Nay, that accursed stinking thing, with 
Si yellow {lower, called the ^' Plain-Weed,^^ which 
is the torment of the neighbouring farmer, has been, 
above all the plants in this world, chosen as the 
most conspicuous ornament of the front of the 
King of England's grandest palace, that of Hamp- 
ton-Court, where, growing in a rich soil to the 
height of five or six feet, it, under the name of 
" Golden Rod,^^ nods over the whole length of the 
edge of a walk, three quarters of a mile long and, 
perhaps thirty feet wide, the most magnificent per- 
haps, in Europe. But, be not too hasty, Ame- 
rican, in laughing at John Bull's king ; for, I see, 
as a choice flower in your gardens, that still more 
pernicious European weed, which the French call 
the Coquelicot, and the English, the Corn-Poppy, 
which stifles the barley, the wheat, and especially 
the peas, and frequently m^akes the fields the colour 
of blood. 

331. This is quite suflicient to show the power 
of rarity in aflixing value on shrubs and flowers. 
The finest flowering trees and shrubs in England 
have been got from America. The Wild Cherry, 
which they call the bird-cherry, which here grows 
sometimes to the height of a hundred feet and one 
of which I can now see from my windpw more 
than seventy feet high ; the Locust, most beautiful 



VL] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 207 



of trees and best of timber ; thp Catalpha^ blossoms 
far more beautiful than those of the horse-chestnut, 
broad and beautiful leaves that do not scorch in the 
hottest sun ; all the beautifully blowing Laurel- 
tribe ; the Rose of Charon (as it is called here) and 
the Althea Frutex ; the Azalia of all colours ; 
Roses of several kinds. But, there is one shrub of 
the larger kind', abundant here, that I never saw 
there, and that is the thing which some call the 
Morning Star. It has six leaves in its flower, 
which is in the form of the flower of the single 
rose. The whole flower when open, is about three 
times the circumference of a dollar. Some of 
the trees bear blossoms quite white, and others 
blossoms of a whitish peach blossom colour. 
These blossoms come the earliest in the spring. 
They are out /mZZ, in Long Island, in'the first week 
in May, which is rather earlier than the peach- 
blossoms. In England, they would be out full, on 
an average of years, in the last week of February, 
which is an anticipation of all their shrubs. The 
trees, which is a great quality, thrive well under 
other trees, which, indeed, seems to be their nature. 
You see, from a great distance, their bright and 
large blossoms, unaccompanied by leaves, shining 
through the boughs of the other trees ; and some 
of them reach the height oi forty feet. This, there- 
fore, is a very fine flowering tree ; and yet I never 
saw one of the kind in England.^ How beautiful a 
grove might be made of this tree, the wild-cherry, 
the Locust, the Catalpha, and the Althea-frutex 1 
And,here they are all, only for the trouble of sow- 
ing ; for from the seed the tree will surely come. 

332. I shall now proceed to give an Alphabetical 
List of such flowering Trees, Shrubs, and Plants, 
as I think worthy of cultivation ; or, rather, that I 



208 THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap. 



myself would wish to have about my house, or in 
my garden. As I go on I shall state some par- 
ticulars here and there relating to propagation and 
management : but, to be very particular would be 
superfluous, seeing that such full directions have 
been given in the former parts of the work, as to 
the sowing of all seeds, great as well as small ; as 
to the raising of trees and plants from cultingb, 
slips, layers and suckers, and as to cultivation and 
tillage. Flowers are divided into annuals^ bien- 
nials and perennials. The first blow and die the 
year they are sDwn ; the second blow the second 
year and then die ; the third sometimes blow the 
first year and sometimes not, and die down to the 
ground annually, but spring up again every spring. 
I have not made separate lists; but have included 
the whole in one Alphabetical List. There are 
sixty trees, shrubs and plants altogether ; and, if 
properly cultivated, these will give a grand bloom 
from May to November. 

LIST. 

333. ALTHEA FRUTEX.— It is raised from 
seed, or from suckers. There are several sorts, as 
to colours. They should be mixed to make a variety. 
Save the seed in November or December. The pods 
are full.- Sow in the spring. Seed produces the 
handsomest shrub ; and it is to be got almost any 
where. 

334. ANEMONE — This is a very beautiful flower, 
and worthy of great pains. It is raised from seed, 
or from pieces of the roots. Sow the seed in spring. 
The plant does not blow the first year. The root, 
w^hich is tuberous, is taken up in the fall, dried in the 
sun, and put by in the dry till spring, when it is put 
into the ground again! And, during the summer, it 
sends out young roots, which must be taken off* and 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



209 



:1 .planted out, to become blowers. There is a great 
variety of colours and of sizes of this flower. 
335. ARBUTUS.— A pretty ever-green, as well 
i . known as the oak tree ; and is to be got every where. 
, 336. ASTRE (China.)— J.s^re is French for star, 
|l and this flower, in its shape, resembles a star to our 
■ view. It is annual, bears great quantities of seed, 
and is sown early in spring. An infinite variety of 
colours, and great quantities of blossoms. If gives 
no smell ; but a clump of it furnishes a great mass 
of beauty to the sight. 

337. AURICULA.— This is one of the flowers, 
the sorts of which are distinguished by having 
I awarded to them the names of famous men and wo- 
i| men, famous cities, and famous battles, and so forth. 
It may be raised from seed ; but the flowers pro- 
ceeding from plants so raised, do not resemble the 
flowers of the mother plant, except by mere acci- 
dent. It is a chance if you get a fine flower from a 
whole sown bed. Now-and-then one of this des- 
i; cription comes, however, and this adds to the list 
' of names, if it happen to be one of the like of which 
;i has not made its appearance before. Auriculas are, 
|i therefore, propagated by parting the roots, and every 
root sends out several young plants annually. When 
sown, they do not blow till the second year ; but the 
old root lasts for many years. Some of these should 
be -potted, and kept to blow in the green-house. If 
planted in the natural ground, they ought to be 
j covered a little in the winter. There are many 
I hundreds of sorts with names. So many indeed, 
that the godfathers in England have been so put 
to it for great personages to baptize the flowers 
after, that they have been compelled to resort to 
the heroes and heroines of Romance ; accordingly 
they have Don Quickset and Sancho. However, 
18* 



210 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



vanity supplies the florists, as well as the ship- 
owners, with a great store of names, and auriculas, 
like ships, are very frequently honoured with the 
names of the original proprietor's wife or daughter. 

338. AZALIA.— That little American Honey- 
suckle that impedes our steps when shooting on the 
skirts of woods. It however, blows profusely, though 
it has no smell like the English honeysuckle. 

339. BALSAM is an annual and a most beautiful 
plant, with great abundance of flowers. Sow when 
you sow Melons, at a distance of four feet ; leave 
only one plant in a place ; let the ground be rich 
and kept clean ; it will blow early in July, and will 
keep growing and blowing till the frost comes, and 
then, like the cucumber, it is instantly cut down. I 
have seen Balsams in Pennsylvania 3 feet high, 
with side-branches 2 feet long, and with a stem 
much bigger than my wrist, loaded with beautiful 
blossoms. Plant, branch, leaf, flower ; all are most 
elegantly formed, and the colours of the flower ex- 
traordinarily vivid and various. There are, how- 
ever, some more double than others, and some va- 
riegated. The seed of these should be sowed, and 
it comes in great abundance. The flower of the 
Balsam has no smell. 

340. BRIAR, (Sweet.)— A well known shrub of 
the rose kind. Bows of it carefully planted and 
pruned make very good hedges, and it will grow in 
almost any ground, though fastest in good ground. 

341. CAMILLIA.— This shrub, which is of the 
laurel-tribe, has lately been introduced in England 
from Japan. It bears a flower, which, when open, 
resembles a good deal a large full-blown rose ; and 
these flowers, on difl^erent plants, are of difl^erent 
colours. It is raised, doubtless, from seed ; but it 
may be grafted on the Hawthorn ; and, I dare say, 



VI.] 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



211 



on the Crah, Some of the plants have been sold 
at 20 or 30 pounds each, By this time they are 
probably sold at a dollar. The plant as well as the 
flower are handsome ; and certainly cutting's for 
grafting may easily be brought from England. 
They will stand the winter as well as any of the 
American laurels. 

342. CARNATION.— Here is beauty and frag- 
ranee, and both in the highest degree. There are 
various sorts, distinguished, like those of the Auri- 
cula, by naines ; and, what is said of the seed of 
the Auricula applies here. If sown, the carnation 
does not blow till the second year. It is usually 
propagated by layers. While it is blowing, it 
sends out several side shoots near the ground. 
These are pinned down, in August^ to the earth 
with a little stick with a hook at the end of it. A 
little cut, or tongue, is made on the under side of 
the shoot ; and thus the head of the shoot is brought 
upright. The part that touches the ground is well 
covered with earth ; and roots come out here be- 
fore the fall. Then the stalk, which connects the 
young plant with the old one is cut off ; the young 
plant is transplanted, and the next year it blows. 
The old root does not stand another year well ; and, 
therefore, its branches are thus made use of to keep 
up the race and the sort. — Carnations are rather 
tender as to frost. And must be well covered in 
this country to live through the winter. It is best 
to put them in large pots to give room for laying ; 
and to keep them in a green-house in winter, or in 
some "house, where they can have sun and air 
However, they merit all the pains that can be be- 
stowed upon them. 

343. CATALPHA.— That beautiful Ar^ierican 
tree mentioned in Paragraph 329. 



212 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap, 



344. CLOVE. — Is only a more handy and less 
esteemed sort of Carnation, which see. It may be 
propagated like the Carnation ; or, by cuttings^ 
which is the easier way. Instead of laying down 
the side shoots, you cut them off. Then you cut 
away the hard part of the shoot, strip off three or 
four of the bottom leaves. Tip the rest of the 
leaves ; make a little split in the butt of the shoot, 
and, then, vnih a little smooth pointed stick, plant 
the cutting in the ground. This is to be done early 
in August. The young Cloves will have roots in 
the fall ; and you may transplant them into the open 
ground or into pots to blow the next year. The 
old Clove plant will, however, blow for many years. 
I should think, that, with good covering, such as 
directed for s'pinach, Cloves would live out the 
winter in this country. 

345. COLUMBINE. — A perennial Very com- 
mon ; but very pretty. 

346. COWSLIP.— This is one of the four flow- 
ers, without which English pastoral poetry would 
be destitute of that which awakens the most de- 
lightful ideas. The Cowslip, the Primrose, the 
Violet, and the Daisy, are of endless recurrence in 
that species of writing. They all come early in 
the spring ; and are all beautiful. Neither of them 
is seen here, and they all might ; for they will bear 
any severity of weather. The Cowslip is of the 
Polyanthus tribe. It is of a delicate yellow colour, 
and sends forth many blossoms from the same stem, 
which rises about six inches from the ground. It 
may easily be propagated from seed, which it bears 
in great abundance, but, when you once have a plant, 
the easiest way, is to propagate from offsets. The 
plants raised from seed do not blow till the second 
year. The plant is perennial. The flower has a 



I flj THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 213 



delicate sweet smell, and also sweet taste, as a prool 
of which, cart-loads of the flowers, plucked from 
the stalks, are sold in London to make " wine^^ 
with ; that is to say, to furnish drinkers with an 

, apology for swallowing spirits under the specious 
name of Cowslip-wine. The leaf of the flower 

, very much resembles in shape the under lip of a 

I cow, whence, I suppose, our forefathers gave the 

]' plant the name of cowslip. 

|! 347. CROCUS.— A bulbous rooted plant, very 
J well known. It is recommended by its earliness. 
I It is perfectly hardy. The only thing to do when 
'! tt is once planted, is to take care that it does not fill 
all the ground near it. There are yellow, blue, and 
white Crocuses. And they are pleasant when nothing 
else is in bloom, except, at least, the Snowdrop,, 
which departs soon after the Crocus begins to appear, 
348. DAISY. — I cannot say, with Dryden's dam- 
sels, in one of his fine poems, that "the Daisy smells 
so sweet for it has very little smell ; but it is a 
most beautiful little flower, and blows without ceas- 
ing at all times when the grass grows, however little 
thaf may be. The opening of the Daisy is the sure 
sign that there is growth going on in the grass ; and 
these little flowers bespangle the lawns and the 
meadows, the green banks and the glades all over 
England. Their colours present an endless variety ; 
and those grown in gardens are double. The field- 
Daisy is single, and about the size of a York-Six- 
pence. Those in the gardens are sometimes as 
broad as a quarter of a dollar. And there is one 
other sort called the Hen-and-chicken Daisy, that 
I has a ring of little flowers surrounding the main 
I flower. This plant may be raised from ofl*sets or 
seed, in which last case it blows the second year 
' It is perennial. 



214 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



349. GERANIUM wants hardiness only to make 
it the finest flower-plant of which I have any know- 
ledge. Some give us flower with little or no leaf ; 
others have beauty of leaf as well as of flower, but 
give us no fragrance ; others, like the rose, give us 
this added to beauty of flower and of leaf, but, it give 
us them only for a part of the year. But, the Ge- 
ranium has beautiful leaf, beautiful flower, flagrant 
smell from leaf as well as from flower^ and these it 
has in never-ceasing abundance ; and as to variety 
of sorts, as well as in leaf as in flower, it surpasses 
even the flower of the Auricula. How delightful 
the country, where Geraniums form the underwood, 
and the Myrtles tower above ! Softly, my friends. 
Beneath that underwood lurks the poisonous lizards 
and serpents, and through those Myrtle boughs the 
deadly wino^ed adders rustle ; while all around is 
dry and burning sand. The Geranium is a native 
of the South of Africa ; and, though it will not re- 
ceive its death-blow from even a sharpish frost, it 
will not endure the winter, even in the mild climate 
of England. But, then, it is so easy of cultivation, 
it grows so fast, blows so soon, and is so little trou- 
blesome, that it seems to argue an insensibility to 
the charms of nature not to have Geraniums if we 
have the means of obtaining earth and sun. — The 
Geranium is propagated from seed, or from cuttings. 
The seed, like that of the Auricula, does not pro- 
duce flower or leaf like the mother plant, except by 
chance. It is easily saved, and for curiosity's sake, 
may be sown to see if a new variety will come. 
But, a cutting, from any part of the plant, old wood 
or young wood, stuck into the ground, or into a pot, 
will grow and become a plant, and will blow in a 
month from the time you put it into the ground. 
You must have plants, indeed, to cut from ; but 



I VI.] THE AMFTvICAN GARDENER. «3l5 

these may be, in small number at any rate, in a win- 
dow during winter. When the spring comes, cut 
them up into cuttings, put these in the ground where 
you wish to have plants during the summer. They 
will be in bloom by July, and, before October, will 
I be large as a currant tree. Take off cuttings from 
: these during September, put them in pots, and they 
l! are ready for the next spring. If you have a Green- 
'\ house, you have Geraniums in full bloom all the 
; long dreary winter. 

j 350. GUELDER-ROSE.— This is called here the 
I Snow-ball tree. It is raised either from layers or 
'i suckers. Its bloom is of short duration : but, for 

the time, makes a grand show in a shrubbery. The 

suckers of it ought to be dug clean away every year, 
j 351. HAWTHORN.— This tree has been amply 

described in Chapter I, under the head of Fencing. 

Sometimes it is called Hawthorn, and som.etimes 
, White-thorn. 

I, 352. HEART'S-EASE, or Pansey.—A beautiful 
' little annual, which has great varieties, and all of 
them pretty. It blows all the summer. It may be 
sown in the fall, without any care about covering 
' the ground ; but, it must not come up, in this coun- 
try, till spring. 

353. HEATH.— The common English heath is 
\] hardy, but ugly. The Heaths from Africa are of 
I infinite variety. Insignificant in flower, however 

Ij and must be housed in Winter. They are propa- 
ij gated from seed, or from slips, and will last a long 
|j while. A few in a green-house are pretty ; and they 
look gay^in winter. 

354. HOLLYHOCK.— This is a fine showy 
plant for a shubbery. There are double and single, 
and none but the double should be cultivated. It 
may be raised from seed, or from offsets. If the 



216 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chaj^i 



former it does not blow till the second year. It 
will remain in the ground many years, and is per- 
fectly hardy. 

355. HOLLYHOCK (Chinese.)— This is a more 
tender and far more beautiful kind than the common. 
It is raised from seed only ; blows the second year, 
and only that year. It is, therefore, a biennial. 

356. HONEYSUCKLE.— This, amongst all Eng- 
lish shrubs, is the only rival of the Rose ; and, if put ' 
to the vote, perhaps as many persons would decide 
for the one as for the other. Its name indicates its 
sweetness of taste, and the smell is delightful almost f 
beyond comparison. The plant is also beautiful : 
it climbs up houses and over hedges ; it forms ar 
bors and bowers : and has a long-continued sue 
cession of blossoms. It grows wild in all parts ol 
England, in many parts covering the hedges and 
climbing up the trees. There is little variety as to 
sorts. That which is cultivated has a larger and 
deeper-coloured bloom, but the wild has the sweet- 
est smell. — It may be propagated from seed ; but 
always is from cuttings ; put into the ground in the 
spring, and treated like other wood-cuttings. See 
Paragraph 275. 

357. HYACINTH.— This is a bulbous-rooted 
plant, and, like all the plants of that class, is per en- 
niaL It may be raised from seed; but, as in the cassi ^ 
of the Auricula and many other plants, it is many, ; 
chances to one, that, out of a whole bed, you do 
not get a good flower ; and, perhaps, it is a hun- 
dred to one that you do not get a flower to resemble 
the mother plant. Therefore, none but curious 
florists attempt to raise from seed. The roots are 
propagated from ofl^-sets ; that is to say, the mother 
root, while it is blowing, sends out, on its sides, seve- 
ral young ones. The old root, young ones and all, arc 



HE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



217 



put away in a dry place, out of the reach of severe 
frost, till spring. Then, when you plant the old 
one out to blow again, you take off the young ones 
and plant them also. They do not blow the first 
year, and, if weak, not the second. But, in time, 
they do ; and then they produce offsets. This is 
the way the Hyacinth is multiplied. It is a fine 
and fragrant fi.ower ; it blows early, and will blow 
well even in glasses in a room ; but better in earth. 
A fine flower for a green-house, where it would be 
out in fiill bloom while the snow was on the ground. 

358. JASMIN.— Has the merit of a very delight- 
I ,ful smell, and that only. Its leaf and flower are 

insignificant. It climbs, however, and is good to 
cover bowers. It is easily raised from cuttings. 
See Paragraph 275. 

359. JONQUIL.— An elegant and sweet smell- 
ing bulbous rooted plant. Propagated, and culti- 
vated, in all respects, like the Hyacinth, which see. 

360. KALMIA. — An evergreen shrub of great 
beauty, and of several varieties, great quantities of 
which are seen in most of the rocky woodlands 
of this country. 

361. KILL-CALF.— Mentioned in Paragraph 
328, which see. It is a dwarf shrub, and may be 
raised from seed, or from suckers. It is very pretty. 

, When in bloom it resembles a large clump of Sweet 
Williams. It is so pretty that it is worth having in 
the green-house, where it would blow, probably in 
April, in Long^ Island. 

362. LABURNHAM.— This is a tall and beau- 
tiful shrub, loaded, when in bloom, with yellow 
blossoms, in chains ; whence it is sometimes called 
the Golden Chain. I sent one out to Pennsylvania 
in 1800 ; but, though alive now, it has never got to 
any height, and has never borne blossoms, being 

19 



218 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



continually nipped by the winter. That it will 
grow and thrive in this country is, however, cer- 
tain ; for I saw two very fine trees in grand bloom 
in the garden, between Brooklyn and the Turnpike 
gate, last spring. It is raised from the seed as 
easily as Indian Corn is. 

363. LARKSPUR.— An annual of no smell, but 
of great variety as to colours, and when in a clump, 
or bed, presenting a great mass of bloom. There 
is a dwarf and a tall sort. The dwarf is the best. 
There is a brancjiing kind, which is good for nothing. 

364. LILAC. — Desirable for its great m.asses of 
fine large bunches of bloom. There is the White, 
4he Blue, and the Reddish. It is propagated from 
tuckers, of which it sends out too many, and from 
which it should be kept as clear as possible. It is 
an ugly shrub when out of bloom. The leaves 
soon become brown. Therefore, there should be 
but few Lilacs in a shrubbery. 

365. LILY OF THE VALLEY.— This the only 
Lily that I should like to have. It is a pretty 
little dwarf plant, that thrives best in the shade, 
where it produces beautiful blossoms of exquisite 
sweetness. It is a bulbous root, and propagated 
from offsets. 

366. LOCUST.— Well known, and sufficiently 
noticed in Paragraph 329. It may be raised from 
suckers ; but best from seed, which always makes 
the straighest trunk. 

367. LUPIN. — A species of pea or tare, and fre- 
quently cultivated in the fields, and eaten in soup 
and otherwise, by the Italians, and in the South of 
France. It grows, however, upon a stiff stem, and 
is upright, and branches out, like a tree in minia- 
ture. There is a great variety of sorts, as to colour 
of flower as well as to size of plant. The Yellow 



VI.l THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



219 



dwarf is the best, and it smells very sweet. This 
plant is, of course, an annuaL 

368. MAGNOLIA.— One of the finest of the lau- 
rel tribe. It can be raised from seed, or from lay- 
ers, A very fine shrub indeed. There are several 
varieties of it. 

369. MIGNONETTE.— An annual that bears 
abundance of seed. The plant and the flower do not 
surpass those of the most contemptible weed ; but 
the flower has a very sweet smell. It may, if you 
have a green-house, be had at any time of the year. 
The plants may stand at four or five inches asunder ; 
but, if they stand thicker, the bloom is inferior, and 
does not last so long. 

370. MORNING STAR.— This fine shrub has 
been sufiiciently described in Paragraph 329. It can 
be raised from seed, or from layers. 

371. MYRTLE.— The Myrtle is a native of clit 
mates where it is never cold. It will not endure 
even November all out, in Long Island. To have 
it, therefore, it must be housed in winter. It may 
be raised from seed, cuttings, slips, or layers. The 
leaf of the Myrtle has a fine smell; and, when the 
tree is in bloom, it is pretty. But, it is a gloomy look- 
ing shrub. One Geranium is worth a thousand 
Myrtles. The broad-leaved Myrtle is the best in 
every respect, and especially because it is easily 
brought to blow. 

372. NARCISSUS.— A bulbous-rooted plant, ma- 
naged precisely like the Hyacinth, which see. It 
blows early, is very beautiful, and has a delightful 
smell. Nothing is easier than the propagation and 
management of flowers of this tribe, and few are 
more pleasing. The Narcissus \s a very nice thing 
for a parlour, or a green-house. 

373. PASSION-FLOWER.— So called because 



220 THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chdp 

the flower has a Cross in the middle, and rays, re- 
sembling a glory, round the edges of it. It is a sin- 
gularly bea*utiful flower. The plant is also beauti- 
ful. It is a climber, like the Honeysuckle ; and, like 
that, has a succession of blossoms that keep it in 
bloom a long while. It is raised from cuttings, which, 
treated as other cuttings are, easily taken root. 

374. PCEONY. — -A perennial that may be raised 
from seed or ofl*sets. A grand flower for shrubbe- 
ries. Each flower is usually as big as a tea-cup, and 
one plant will sometimes produce twenty or thirty* 

375. PEA (Sweet.) — There are a great variety in 
the annual sorts as to colour of blossom, and, there 
is a perennial sort, called everlasting pea. This 
stands, of course, year after year. The others are 
sown and cultivated like the common garden pea. 
They should have some sticks to keep them up. 
This is a very showy flower, and remains in bloom 
a long while. 

376. PINK. — This flower is too well known to 
need describing here. There are a great variety of 
sorts, as to the flower ; but all are cultivated in the 
same way; exactly as directed for the Clove, which 
see. The Pink root will last a great many years ; 
but, the flower is seldom so fine as the first year of 
the plant's blowing. 

377. POLYANTHUS.— Every thing that has 
been said of the Auricula (which see) may be said 
of the Polyanthus. It is a very pretty flower, and 
imiversally esteemed. It blows finest out of the hot 
sun. Polyanthuses are best in heds ; for a great part 
of their merit consists of the endless variety which 
they present to the eye. The Polyanthus has a de- 
licately sweet smell, like that of the Cowslip. 

378. POPPY.— A very bad smell, but still is to 
be sought for on account of its very great variety 



¥"1.\ THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 221 

in size, height, and in flower ; and on account of the 
gayness of that flower. The seed pods of some are 
of the bulk of a three pound weight, while those of 
others are hot so big as even a small pea. The 
smallest, however, contains about a thousand seeds, 
and these come up, ar>d the plants flourish, with very- 
little care. A pretty large bed, with two or three 
hundred sorts in it, is a spectacle hardly surpassed 
in beauty by any thing in the vegetable creation. It 
is an annual, of course. It is well known as a me- 
dicinal plant ; but, it is not so well known as a plant 
from the seed of which sallad-oil is sometimes 
made I The Germans, on the Rhine, cultivate whole 
fields of it for this purpose. It may be as well, 
therefore, for us to take care not to use German 
Sallad-Oil, which, however, can with great difficulty 
be distinguished from oil of olives. 

379. PRIMROSE.— A beautiful little flower of a 
pale yellow and delicate smell. It comes very early 
in the spring; and continues a good while in bloom. 
Of the fibrous rooted flow^ers it is the next to the 
Daisy in point of earliness. It is a universal fa- 
vourite ; and, in England, it comes abundantly in 
woods, pastures and banks. It is perennial like 
the Cowslip, and is propagated in the same manner. 
How beautiful a Long Island wood would look in 
April, the ground beneath the trees being decked 
with Primroses ! 

380. RANUNCULUS.— Is a flower of the nature 
of the Anemone, which see. It is propagated and 
cultivated in the same manner. These two flowers 
are usually planted out in beds, where they make a 
very fine show. 

381 RHODODENDRON.— It never occurred, 
perhaps, to any American to give this fine name to 
the laurel with a long narrow leaf and great bunches 
19* 



222 THE AMERICAN GARDENER. [Chap 

of blue, pink, or white flowers, the balls, or pods, 
containing which, appear the year before the flower. 
It is, however, a beautiful shrub, and not less beau- 
tiful on account of its frequently covering scores ol 
acres of rocky sides of hills, or on account of En- 
glish Gardeners believing that it requires bog-earth 
(though fetched from many miles distance, at vast 
expense) to make it grow and blow ! 

382. ROSES. — A volume larger than this would 
not describe the differences in all the sorts of this, 
which has, for ages, been considered as the Queen 
of Flowers, the excellences of which to attempt to 
describe would be to insult the taste of every reader. 
I shall, therefore, merely speak of the propagation 
and the management of the plant. All roses may 
be propagated from seed ; but, as the seed seldom 
comes up till the second year, and as the plants 
come to perfection slowly, the usual mode of pro- 
pagation of all sorts, except the China Rose, is by 
suckers. These come out near old stems, during 
the summer ; they are dug up in the fall and planted 
out. In the spring they are cut down near to the 
ground, and, the next year, they blow. — The China 
Rose is so easily raised from cuttings, that little 
bits, put in the ground in spring, will be trees, and 
have a profusion of bloom before the fall. This 
Rose is in bloom, in England, from May till Janu- 
ary, if the soil and situation both be good. — ^It is very 
strange that Mr. Marshall should set this down 
amongst " tender shrubs,^' asid say, that it will not 
do abroad, except in the summer months.''^ It 
stands the winter as well as the oak, and, I have, for 
years, had it, against the front of my house, blowing 
finely at Christmas, without any attempt at cover- 
ing. In America, in the open air, it might not be in 
bloom at Christmas ; but it stands the winter as well 



VI.] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



223 



as any tree that can be nanved. It is beautiful for 
the Green-house ; for there it, mixed with Gerani- 
ums, blow beautifully all the winter long. As to the 
management of roses ; the ground should be good, 
and dug every autumn as directed far fruit trees, and 
should be manured frequently. They should (except 
when trained against walls or over bowers) be kept 
cut down low ; for, when they get long stems and 
limbs, they, like peach trees, not only look ugly, but 
bear but few fl-owers, and those very mean ones. 
They should, therefore, be cut to within a foot, or 
less, of the ground ; and all dead or weak wood should 
be pruned out close, without leaving any us^ly stubs. 

383. SIBERIAN CRAB.— This Shrub is, by 
some, esteemed for its fruit, of which they make a 
conserve, more, I imagine, to gratify the s?ght than 
to gratify the palat>e. But, as a tall shrub, it yields, 
for the time, to very few. There is the red-blos- 
somed and the white-blossom.ed. The branches of 
both, when in bloom, present ropes of flowers, 
while the trunk, the limbs, the branches and the 
leaves, are all delicate in form and in hue. 

384. SNOW DROP.— Is the earliest of all flow- 
ers. In England it blows in January. Once in the 
ground it is not very easy to get it out again. No- 
thing but carrying it away, or actually consuming 
it with fire will rid you of it. No sun, not even an 
American sun, will kill a Snow-Drop bulb, if it 
touch the ground. 

385. STOCK.— There are annuals and biennials 
of this name ; and, if I were to choose amongst all 
the annuals and biennials, I should certainly choose 
the Stock, Elegant leaf, elegant plant, beautiful, 
showy, and most fragrant flower; and, with suit- 
able attention, bloom, even in the natural ground, 
from May to November in England, and from June 



224 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER- 



[Chap. 



to November here. — The annuals are called ten- 
week Stocks. And of these there are, with a pea- 
green leaf, the Red, White, Purple and Scarlet, 
and, then, there are all the same colours with a 
Wall-flower or Sea-Green leaf. So that there are 
eight sorts of the annual Stock. — Of the biennials, 
there are the Brompton, of which there are the 
Scarlet and the White; the Dutch, which is Red; 
the Queen^s, of which there are the Red and the 
WJiite ; and the Twickenham, which is Purple. — 
As to propagation, it is, of course, by seed only. If 
there be nothing but the natural ground to rely on, 
the sowing must be early ; the earth \' ery fine and 
very rich. The seed is small and thin, and does 
not easily come up in coarse earth. If the plants 
come up thick, thin them, when very young. And 
do not leave them nearer together than six inches. 
They, however, transplant very well ; and those 
that have not place to blow in may be removed, and 
?L succession of bloom is thus secured. If you have 
a green-house, glass frame, or hand-glass, you get 
flowers six weeks earlier. — The hiennials are sown 
at the same time, and treated in the same way. 
They blow the second year ; but, if there be great 
difficulty in preserving them, in the natura'l ground, 
through the winter in England, what must it be 
here ! Indeed, it cannot be done ; and yet, they are 
so fine ; so lofty ; such masses of beautiful and fra- 
grant flowers ; and they continue so long in bloom, 
that they are worth any care and any trouble. There 
is but one way: the plants, when they get ten or a 
dozen leaves, must be put into flower-pots. These 
may be sunk in the earth, in the open ground, till 
November (Long Island,) and when the sharp frosts 
come, the pots must be taken up, and placed out of 
the reach of hard frost, and where there is, however, 



VI.] 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



225 



gun and air. When the spring comes, the pots may 
be put out into the natural ground again ; or, which 
is better, the balls of earth may be put into a hole 
made for the purpose ; and thus the plants will be 
in the natural ground to blow. In this country they 
should be placed in the shade when put out again ; 
for a very hot sun is apt to tarnish the bloom. 

3S6. SYRINGA, ov Moch-Orange.— A. yery stout 
shrub, with blossoms much like that of the orange, 
and with a powerful smell. It is propagated from 
suckers, of which it sends out a great many. 

387. SWEET WILLIAM.— A very pretty flower. 
Makes a fine show. Comes Double by chance : and 
is very handsome whether double or single. It is 
propagated from seed, the plants coming from which 
do not blow till the second year. The Sweet Wil- 
liam root does not last many years. It may be pro- 
pagated by parting the roots ; and this musthe done 
to have the same flower again to a certainty, because 
the seed do not, except hy chance, produce flowers 
like those of the mother plant. 

388. TUBEROSE.— This is a bulbuous-rooted 
plant that sends up a beautiful and most fragrant 
flower. But, even in England, it cannot be brought 
to perfection without artificial heat in the spring. If 
got forward in a green-house, or hot-bed, and put 
out about the middle of June, it would blow beauti- 
fully in America. It is a native of Italy, and the 
roots are brought to England and sold there in the 
shops. It is propagated and managed precisely like 
the Hyacinth, which see. 

389. TULIP.— Beds of Tulips vie with those of 
Carnations and Auriculas, They are made shows 
of in England, and a single root is sometimes sold 
for two or three hundred guineas. And, why not ; 
as well as make shows of pictures^ and sell them 



22(5 



THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 



for large sums? There is an endless variety in the%o 
lours of the tulip. The bulbs, to have the flowers line, 
must be treated like those of the Hyacinth. The tulip 
may be raised from seed ; but it is, as in the case ol 
the Hyacinth, a thousand to one against getting from 
seed a flower like that of the mother plant. 

390. VIOLET.— This is one of the four favour- 
ites of the Spring in England. It is a little creeping 
plant, that comes on banks under the shelter of warm 
hedges. The flower is so well known to excel in 
sweetness, that, as sweet as a violet'^ is a phrase 
as common as any in the English language. There 
is a purple and a white. Abundance of seed is borne 
annually by both ; and the plant is perennial. If you 
propagate from seed, the flower does not come till 
the second year; but, one plant, taken from an old 
root, will fill a rod of ground in a few years. — There 
is a little plant in these woods in Long Island, with 
a flower precisely like that of the purple violet ; but, 
the leaf is a narrow oblong, instead of being, as the 
English is, in the shape of a heart ; the plant does 
not creep ; and the flower has no smell. 

391. WALL-FLOWER.— It is so called, because 
it will grow, sow itself, and furnish bloom in this 
way, by a succession of plants, for ever, upon old 
walls, where it makes a beautiful show. It bears 
abundance of seed, plants from which produce flow- 
ers the second year. Some come double, sometimes. 
If you wish to be sure of double flowers, you must 
propagate by slips of double-flowering plants. There 
are the yellow and the mixed, partly yellow and 
partly red. All have a delightful smell, blow early, 
and are generally great favourites. I am afraid this 
plant, even with covering, will not stand the winter 
out of do ors in America, unless in the south front of a 
building, and covered toom severe weather; for, even 
in England, it is sometimes killed by the frosts. 



227 



INDEX 

TO VEGETABLES AND HERBS, FRUITS AND 
FLOWERS. 



VEGETABLES AND HERBS. 





Pfl.r3,gT3.ph 


Artichoke 


- 192 


Asparagus 


193 


Balm - - - 


- 194 


Basil 


195 


Bean - - - 


- 196' 


Bean (Kidney) 


197 


Beet - - - 


- 198 


Brocoli > . • 


199 


Burnet - - - 


. 200 


Cabbage - - - 


201 


Calabash 


- 202 


Cale 


203 


Cale (Sea) - 


- 204 


Camomile 


205 


Capsicum 


- 206 


Caraway - - - 


207 


-Carrot - - - 


- 208 


Cauliflower 


209 


Celery - - - 


- 210 


Chervil - 


211 


Cives - - - 


- 212 


Coriander 


213 


Corn - - - 


- 214 


Corn-Salad 


215 


Cress (Pepper Grass) 


- 216 


Cucumber 


217 


Dandelion 


- 218 


Dock V . . 


219 


Endive - 


- 220 


Fennel - - . 


221 


Garlick - 


- 222 


Gourd - • - 


223 


Hop - - - 


- 224 


Horse-Radish - 


225| 



Paraffiaph. 


Hyssop - - - - 


226 


Jerusalem Artichoke 


227 


Lavender - 


228 


Leek - - - 


229*--^ 


Lettuce _ - - 


230 


Mangel Wurzel 


231 


Marjoram - - - 


232 


Marigold - 


233 


Melon - - - - 


234 


Mint 


235 


Mustard - 


236 


Nasturtium 


237 


Onion - - - - 


238 


Parsley - - - 


239 


Parsnip - 


240 


Pea - 


241 


Pennyroyal - 


242 


Pepper— see Capsicum. 




Pepper-grass — see Cress. 




Potatoe - - - 


245 


Potatoe (Sweet) - 


246 


Pumpkin - - - 


247 


Purslane - - 


248 


Radish 


249 


Rampion - - - 


250 


Rape - - - 


251 


Rhubarb - - - 


252 


Rosemary 


253 


Rue - - - - 


254 


Ruta-Baga — see Turnip. 




Sage - 


256 


Salsafy - 


257 


Samphire - - - 


258 


Savory - - - 


259 



228 



INDEX. 



Sav^oy - 
Scorzenera 
Shalot - 
Skirret - 
Sorrel - 
Spin age - 
Squash - 



Paragraph. , 

- 260 
261 

- 262 
263 

- 264 
265 

- 266. 



Tansy 

Tarragon 

Thyme - 

Tomatum 

Turnip 

Wormwood 



Paragraph. 
267 

- 268 
269 

- 270 
271 

- 272 





FRUITS. 




Apple - 


- 300 


Medlar - - - 


- 313 


Apricot - 


301 


Melon 


314 


Barberry 


- 302 


Mulberry 


- 315 


Cherry 


303 


Nectarine 


316 


Chestnut 


- 304 


Nut 


- 317 


Cranberry 


305 


Peach » - - 


318 


Currant 


- 306 


Pear » = - 


- 319 


Fig - - - 


307 


Plums . - - 


320 


Filberd - 


- 308 


Gtuince » - - 


- 321 


Gooseberry 


309 


Raspberry 


322 


Grape - 


. 310 


Strawberry - 


- 323 


Huckleberry 


311 


Vine — see Grape. 




Madeira Nut — see 


Walnut. 


Walnut 


. 325 




FLOWERS. 




Althea Frutex 


- 333 


Heart's-ease (Pansey) 




Anemone - 


334 


Heath - - - 


- 353 


Arbutus 


- 335 


Hollyhock 


o54 


Astre (Chma) - 


336 


Hollyhock (Chinese) 


" 355 


Auricula 


- 337 


Honeysuckle - 


356 




338 


Hyacinth 


- 357 


Balsam 


- 339 


Jasmin - - - 


358 


Briar (Sweet) - 


340 


Jonquil 


■ 359 


Camilla 


- 341 


Kalmia - - - 


360 


Carnation 


342 


Kill-calf 


361 


Catalpha 


- 343 


Laburnham 


362 


Clove 


344 


Larkspur 


363 


Columbine - 


- 345 


Lilac - - - 


364 


Cowslip - 


346 


Lily of the Valley 


365 


Crocus - 


- . 347 


Locust - - - 


366 


Daisy 


348 


Lupin - - - - 


367 


Geranium 


- 349 


Magnolia 


368 


Guelder-Rose - 


350 


Mignonette - 


369 


Hawthorn 


- 351 


Morning-Star « 


370 



229 

* INDEX TO THE GENERAL MATTER, 



[The Figures refer to the Paragraphs, and not to Pages.] 

Paragraph 

Addison 121 

Boxes, earthen-ware preferable to, for plants - - 109 

Bacon, Lord 121 

Cultivation, in general 126, 176 

as relates to Fruits 291 

Curwen, Mr. John Christian - ' - - - - 183 

Cowley = . - - . 121 

Drilling, mode of - - = - - - 162, 163 
Diseases of Trees . = = = = - 298 

Dryden „ = . 348 

Fencing » - - - 30 

for shade and shelter - - - - - 33, 48 

expense of 47, 50, 51 

seed for, how to procure - - - - 55 

Cluick-set, described 39 

Garden, its praises, the produce and pleasures de- 
rived from 2, 3, 121 

Grreen-houses 97 

the usefulness of - - 100, 117, 118, 121 

Girard, Mr. Stephen - - 308 

Hot-beds . . . 63 

frames for common in America - - - 71 

hand-glasses useful 94 

Herbs, preserving and forcing of them - - - 117 

Hampton Court, vine at 310 

flowers at ----- - 331 

Hulme, Mr. 310 

Laying out of gardens 57 

Le Gau, Mr. 310 

Lucern,' depth of its roots 193 

Loves of the plants ------- 141 

Manures 28, 29 

Missing, Mr. 188 

Marshall, Rev. Mr. - - 145, 281, 282, 382 

McAllister, Mr. - 55 

Piantmg 283 

Proao'ation in general ------ . 125 

as relates to fruits 273 

of cuttings 276 
of slips - - . • . 1 • 277 



230 INDEX. 

. Paragraph 

Propagation of layers 278 

suckers 279 

grafting 281 

stocks 282 

Panl, Messrs. 282, 308 

Situation for a garden - 12 

Soil 16 

Sowing - 155 

and planting in pots - - . 110 to 114 

Seed, sorts of------ - 128 

when true - -- -- -- - 129 

v/hen sound ------- 131 

saving and preserving of - - - - 136 

table of duiation of - 150 

Sorts of plants, error respecting changes of - - - 188 
Setting of fruit, an erroneous notion - - 141 to 145 

Trenching, best mode of - - - - - 20 

Transplanting 169 

Temple, Sir William 122 

TuU, Mr. 182 to 183 

Roots, to find their length horizontally - - - - 184 

Walls, not necessary for fruit ----- 32 

Watering of plants, not recommended - - - - 187 

Women, duly appreciated in America - - - 101 

Myrtle 371 

ISa^rcissus 372 

Passion-Flower ' 373 

Poeony - -- -- -- -- 374 

Pea (Sweet) 375 

Pink 376 

Polyanthus - -- -- -- -- 377 

Poppy 378 

Primrose - -- -- -- -- 379 

Ranunculus - -- -- -- - 380 

Rhododendron - 381 

Roses 382 

Siberian Crab - -- -- -- - 383 

Snow Drop - -- -- -- - 384 

Stock 385 

Syringa (Mock Orange) ------ 386 

Sweet William - 387 

Tuberose - - - ----- - 388 

Tulip 389 

Violet - . - 390 

Wall-Flower 391 . 



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